Blast From the Past
by inner thoughts
Summary: Lee and Amanda team up with an agency legend to take down one of the world's most dangerous terrorists. Story takes place during season 3 immediately after "Dead Men Leave No Trails".
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** _Scarecrow and Mrs. King_ and its characters are property of Warner Bros. and Shoot the Moon Productions. No copyright infringement is intended. Please do not post without permission from author.

**TIME:** Late Season 3. Takes place immediately after _Dead Men Leave No Trails_

As he stepped out of the corvette, Lee realized that he didn't even remember the drive home. His thoughts were too preoccupied with the kiss he had just shared with Amanda. Granted, the kiss was light, tender-nothing like the passionate kiss he so longed to give her, but it was a kiss. It was a step in the right direction. Once again, they were supposed to have an uninterrupted evening at Amanda's house. The two of them had just wrapped up the Stephen Sallee case and were enjoying a meal and some time together like "a couple of normal people." As they sat on the couch and their eyes locked; it was obvious that they both wanted the same thing. Amanda placed her hand on his cheek and moved in for the kiss. Lee wanted their first kiss to be meaningful, slow and passionate, thus the reason he hesitated slightly. Then, true to form, they were interrupted-again. As Lee snuck out the kitchen door, he told himself that he would not leave this time without kissing Amanda. Amanda quickly followed Lee out to the back patio before being seen by Dotty or the boys. Lee grabbed her and pulled her to him, looking deeply into her soft brown eyes. A quick and tender kiss was all they had time to share, but it was enough for the moment. Lee dashed away back to his car, his heart feeling as if it would pound right out of his chest. The entire ride home, he thought of nothing else other than Amanda. That small kiss confirmed that they both shared feelings for each other. It also meant things would never be the same between them again.

Lee fiddled for his apartment key, still tasting Amanda's kiss upon his lips. He was floating on air, with happiness and hope for their future. As he began to place the key into the lock, Lee noticed the light streaming out from under his apartment door. Someone was in his apartment. Lee's agent instincts quickly took over and he drew his weapon. As carefully as he could, he checked the door to see if it was locked. The knob turned easily indicating that it was no longer secure as he had left it that morning. Lee silently counted to three in his head, burst through the door and ducked down behind the couch.

"Well….that was quite an entrance!" Lee heard a familiar voice say. Slowly, Lee rose up from behind the couch, weapon still drawn and ready to fire upon the intruder. "Seriously, Scarecrow, aren't you going to say hello to an old friend?"

Lee stood up completely and stared at his guest.

"Paul? What the HELL are you doing here?" Lee questioned, gun still at the ready.

"Well, I will be happy to tell you all about it, but could you put the gun away first?"

Lee lowered his gun and let out a chuckle.

"You know, I was ready to shoot who ever I found in here. You're just lucky I didn't shoot first, ask questions later." Lee remarked.

"That would have made some interesting headlines at the agency, wouldn't it? 'Scarecrow Shoots the Wizard'! Old Dr. Smyth wouldn't know what to do with himself!" Paul replied as he patted Lee on the shoulder with his right hand, glass of Scotch in his left. "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of helping myself to a drink. Where do you hide the good stuff?"

"That IS the good stuff these days. Guess I ran out of the top shelf stuff a while ago and never replaced it." Lee sat down on the couch as Paul plopped himself into the chair. "Seriously, what are you doing here? Last I knew, you were headed into retirement. I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that the great legend, Paul Barnes, was retiring. And now you're back in D.C. Weren't you going to Australia or Europe or something?"

"Well, I did retire, Lee-or at least I tried to. But it's hard turning off the spy instincts when you have been in the business as long as I have. I was over in Vienna when a blast from the past crossed my path. Take a look at this." Paul said as the handed Lee a manila folder.

Lee took the folder and looked at Paul with an inquisitive look. "What is this?"

"Just open it and take a look."

Lee opened the folder and found a black and white photo of a very attractive woman staring back at him.

"Hanna Mahler?" Lee said in shock and surprise.

" Yup…that's her." Paul said as he took a long gulp of his drink.

"Where did you find her? She disappeared….gosh, it has to be 6-7 years ago. We were supposed to meet for dinner at a little café in Paris. She never showed. The agent that had been helping me tail her was left for dead. Part of me thought she was dead, too."

"Well, I can assure you Lee, she is very much alive. I ran into her at an American Embassy party in Vienna of all places. She was there trying to pass herself off as an American citizen and doing a pretty good job of it, too. No one suspected that she was a dangerous murderer and weapons dealer."

"Did she recognize you?"

"No. I never had any direct contact with her. That was your job, remember Lee? Or should I say Robert? And if I remember correctly, Robert had some VERY direct contact with her. Am I right?"

Lee began to blush slightly as a smirk graced his lips.

"Well, Paul….sometimes and agent has to do what an agent has to do in order to get the job done."

"Yes, well I seem to remember that you rather enjoyed that assignment, even if the job wasn't exactly completed, which is why I am here now. I need you resume the role of Robert Stevenson and get back involved with Hanna."

Lee was taken aback by Paul's request and began shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "What? Why?"

"Lee, she's involved with Max Kahn, the BIGGEST weapons dealer in Eastern Europe. Something big is going down, I can feel it! We need a man on the inside and that man is you."

Lee stood up from the couch and let out a heavy sigh. He angrily began to run his hand through his hair as he paced back and forth.

"Let me get this straight, you want me to go to Vienna and just "bump" into her and see what info I can get?"

"No, Lee. It's even easier than that! She is coming HERE to Washington. I overheard her talking that she was going to Senator Johnston's charity ball. Dignitaries from all over the world will be there. Something is going down there, and we need to be there when it does."

"Paul, we are already all over that party. Francine has been working on it for weeks and Billy has at least 4 teams helping out Francine. Why do you need me?"

"Because you already have the connection with her, Scarecrow. Besides, I already cleared it with Billy and he agrees that it is a good idea to send you in as Robert Stevenson again."

"You what? Why did you even bother asking me then if you have already spoken to Billy about it?"

"Courtesy.….I don't get what the problem is. You never minded being Hanna's assignment before."

Lee crossed his arms in front of him as he turned away from Paul. His mind immediately thought back to tonight's kiss with Amanda and how they were finally moving in the right direction. Hanna Mahler was trouble no matter which way you looked at it. The last time he was assigned to her, things got very involved in every sense of the word. If he were assigned to her again, there would be very little doubt that things might need to go there again. In the old days, Lee wouldn't have thought twice about jumping into bed with someone all in the "line of duty", especially not someone as attractive as Hanna. But now, things were different. He only had eyes for Amanda. This assignment could screw everything up that he has worked so hard to achieve with her.

"Besides, Scarecrow…..it's not like you are going in there alone. I'll be there. And so will Amanda."

Lee spun around quickly where he stood staring down the Wizard.

"AMANDA? What do you mean Amanda will be there? Why the hell would she be involved with this?"

"Relax, Lee. I already cleared it with Billy just a little while ago. Amanda is going to be part of _my_ cover. She will be coming with me as my wife. You yourself have talked about what a good agent she is becoming and I think she will be useful on this case. And not to mention, she is very easy on the eyes. I am going to enjoy having her as my wife!"

Lee clenched his teeth so hard together that he thought his molars were going to break. It was all he could do from launching himself at Paul and beating him senseless. Amanda was HIS-or at least he hoped that she soon would be. Lee felt his heart sink. How could this be happening? If he let Paul see how upset he was over this, his true feelings for Amanda might be revealed and the agency might never let them work together again. If he didn't say something and Amanda went on this assignment…..what he might have to do with Hanna would surely drive a wedge into the heart of their personal relationship.

"No…..Amanda is not to be part of this. Find someone else. Francine can pose as your wife, not Amanda."

"Lee, seriously…what has gotten into you? Amanda has already been approved by Billy and has agreed to it. We pick her up tomorrow morning."

Lee's eyes began to bug out of his head.

"WHAT? What do you mean she has already agreed to this? I just left her and she didn't say a word about this."

"I know. Billy called over there looking for you and spoke to Amanda. You just had just left. She is very excited about going."

"Does she know what her cover is?"

"No, not yet. We can brief her tomorrow. Speaking of, it's late. I am going to head over to my hotel. Pack a bag and I'll pick you up tomorrow morning about 9. Don't forget to bring your tux."

"I thought we were going to the charity ball. Why do I need to pack a bag?"

"Well the ball isn't until the day after tomorrow, Scarecrow. It is a weekend type of event. Lots of people are staying over at the estate, including Hanna, you and me."

"And Amanda…"Lee quickly added.

"Yes, and Amanda." Paul said with a suggestive smirk.

"And where is Amanda staying? In a room with you? She'll never go for that, Paul. She's NOT that kind of agent." Lee's tone was that of a man on the edge. The thought of Amanda having to share a room with Paul was almost more than he could bear right now.

"Lee-calm down. Amanda's virtue is quite safe. I assure you of that. It will be fine. Why don't you get some rest. I think it will do you good. See you tomorrow." Paul turned to leave Lee's apartment. As he reached for the door, he turned back around. "Before I forget, I left you your file on Robert Stevenson so you can review who you 'are' and what you've been up to these last few years."

Lee bent down and snatched up the file in one swift yet deliberate motion.

"Fine…GREAT!" he yelled after Paul as the door to the apartment clicked shut.

Lee practically threw himself down on the couch and let out a very heavy and agitated sigh. He placed his face in his hands and did his best to try and breathe and calm down. He was having little success when the phone began to ring. Figuring it was Billy, Lee snatched the phone and barked into the receiver.

"Yea-Stetson…"

"Uh…Lee?"

Not Billy…..Amanda's sweet voice caused his heart to flip-flop.

"Amanda? Oh I'm sorry…I…I thought you were Billy."

"Lee are you OK? You sound, well you sound upset."

"Well, yeah, I am a little upset. Paul Barnes was just here and informed me of my assignment….our assignment. He told me that Billy already talked to you."

"Yes, he called here about 5 minutes after we ki….well after you left."

Lee smiled on the other end of the phone as he recalled the kiss they had shared.

"Amanda, I am sorry you are getting dragged into this assignment. I tried to convince Paul to take Francine instead but he wanted you to come."

Amanda got quiet for a moment as she tried to digest what Lee had just said to her.

"Amanda? Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. Lee, do you not think I can do this assignment? Is that why you wanted Paul to take Francine?"

"What? No, Amanda! No, not at all. It's just that…..well"

"Just what?"

"It's just that you are going to be acting as Paul's wife on this assignment and I am going to be stepping back into a role that I played about 7 years ago in order to get close to a woman weapons dealer that I had dealings with a number of years ago."

"Oh….I didn't know…."

Lee could hear the disappointment, boarding on hurt in Amanda's voice. It began to pull at his heart.

"I'm sorry, Amanda. I am sure that if I spoke to Billy, he could reassign…"

"NO! No, it's ok, Lee", Amanda interrupted. "I am a professional and I can deal with being Paul's fake wife for a day."

"Weekend."

"Weekend?"

"Yeah, weekend."

"Oh…Well…..you know. No big deal….. What are the sleeping arrangements?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I already told him that he had better figure something out that works for you….Amanda, I am really not happy about this."

"It's not your fault. We got an assignment and we need to do it the best we can. I wish I was working more closely with you for sure but…we'll get the job done. We always do. I have already told Mother that I need to be away for a few days and the boys are with Joe this weekend so the timing couldn't be better."

Lee gritted his teeth together at Amanda saying that the timing couldn't be better. Of course it would work out that she had no obligations at home when she was to be assigned to play Paul's wife, but the timing was NEVER right when it was to be just Lee and Amanda.

"Lee? Lee are you still there?"

"What? Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking. Why don't you get some sleep and we'll come pick you up in the morning, ok?"

"OK. Listen, Mother is leaving early tomorrow to go to some flea market thing with Edna Gilstrap, so when you get here, just come in."

Lee smiled on the other end of the phone.

"Will do. Sleep well."

"You, too, Lee."

"Uh, Amanda?"

"Yeah?"

"I had…I'm glad we…..thanks for dinner tonight."

"Oh…You're welcome. I hope we can do it again soon."

"Me, too. Good night."

"Sweet dreams, Lee"

Lee's smile remained for a few moments more after he hung up the phone. He then spied the dossier that Paul had left him on the coffee table. Once again, he began to clench his jaw as he thought about tomorrow's assignment.

"Better get packed." He said flatly as he grabbed the folder and headed to his bedroom.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

"Have a good time, Mother!" Amanda said as she waved to Dotty as she drove out of the driveway of 4247 Maplewood Dr. with Edna Gilstrap. Amanda shut the front door and proceeded into the kitchen where she did a quick wipe down of the countertops and stove. She hated leaving a messy kitchen.

Amanda began to feel a bit uneasy about this assignment. She didn't know what the reason was for that. Could it be that Lee was so unhappy about her going? Was it the fact that she would be paired up with Paul for this case? She really didn't know, but she hoped that once she got more information about what was going on that she would be more at ease. Amanda headed back up to her bedroom to retrieve her suitcase and look over her choice of formal wear. She wasn't sure how many dresses she was going to need. Lee never seemed to think of those things when telling her about their assignments. All he had to worry about was bringing a tux. Amanda had learned that in cases like this, it was far better to over pack than under pack. As she zipped up her suitcase, Amanda heard a car door slam. She looked out her bedroom window to see Lee walking down the driveway towards the kitchen door. Her heart leapt at the sight of him. Images of last night's kiss came flooding back. She hoped that this morning may bring a reprise of their embrace.

"Amanda?" She heard Lee call to her from the kitchen.

"Up here! I'll be right down." She called down to him as she quickly checked herself in the mirror. The ice had been broken last night. It would be OK if she gave him a good morning kiss, right? She began down the stairs, her feet barely touching each step as she moved closer to Lee. It was then that she heard another voice with Lee in the kitchen. Paul. Paul was here with Lee. No good morning kiss. As she reached the bottom stair, she had an idea.

"Lee? "she called to him. "Could you please help me with my suitcase?"

Amanda waited for a response, her eyes wide with anticipation. Suddenly, Lee appeared on the landing between the kitchen and the staircase. Cheshire cat-like smiles appeared on both of their faces as they made eye contact. Over Lee's shoulder, Amanda saw Paul Barnes in close proximity.

"What was that, Amanda?" Lee asked.

"Good morning, Lee. Good morning, Paul. Nice to see you again."

"Morning, Amanda. Lovely to see you again, too!" Paul replied.

"Lee, I was just asking if you could help me with my suitcase."

"Oh, sure. No problem."

Lee quickly mounted the stairs and headed up to Amanda's bedroom.

"Make yourself at home, Paul. We'll be right down. The coffee is still hot in the coffee pot."

Amanda quickly turned and ran up the stairs behind Lee. As she entered her bedroom, she saw Lee standing beside her bed looking at her suitcases.

"Amanda, this is a weekend assignment, not a month! Why are you bringing so much with you?"

"Lee….no one gave me much detail so I wasn't sure what to pack. So I packed a little of everything. I didn't want to be caught there without something important. Need I remind you of the Singleton case when I was horribly underdressed and…."

Amanda was off on one of her tangents again. Lee looked at her and smiled as she carried on. He didn't care if she brought her whole wardrobe. He was just so happy to be here with her, in this moment. He walked over to her and placed his hands upon her shoulders.

"Hey….it's fine! Take whatever you think you need."

Amanda stopped talking and just smiled a slightly sheepish grin. Her skin began to tingle where Lee was touching her. Both of them stopped talking and stared into each other's eyes. Lee took his left hand and cupped Amanda's face, her jaw fitting perfectly within the contours of his palm. He gently brushed her cheek with his thumb, his eyes focusing on her lips. Their heartbeats began to increase to a level that pounded within their ears. Amanda involuntarily licked her lips in anticipation of Lee's kiss. He placed his other arm around the small of her back and pulled her gently towards him as he lifted her chin slightly and aligned their lips. A small sigh escaped Amanda's throat as she moved in closer to Lee. Her respirations quickened as she felt Lee's body press against her, his hot breath touching her face. Amanda closed her eyes as she felt Lee's lips beginning to touch her own.

"STETSON! What the hell are you doing up there! Come on! Let's go! We have a lot of work to do before we arrive this afternoon!" Paul bellowed from the foot of the stairs.

Startled by Paul's intrusion, Amanda jumped back from Lee's hold on her. They both looked at each other with disappointment in their eyes. Their kiss, thwarted yet again. Lee began to reach for her but quickly changed his mind as he heard Paul begin to walk up the stairs.

"We'll be right there!" Amanda shouted. "Lee was just asking me why I was taking so many clothes with me."

She threw her garment bag over her arm and met Paul on the landing right outside her bedroom door.

"Shall we?" Amanda said to Paul as she gestured for him to descend the stairs and head back to the kitchen. Paul turned around and led the way. Lee followed with her suitcase in tow.

"Seriously, Amanda! What didn't you pack?" Lee said in an annoyed tone. Amanda turned around to make a retort to his comment when she saw him wink at her. She then understood that he was playing along with her explanation was to what was taking them so long. She smiled back and just shrugged her shoulders. A second kiss would have to wait.

"Well! If it isn't the Wizard himself!" Amanda said to Paul as she gave him a gentle hug. "I gotta be honest, I was quite surprised when Mr. Melrose said that Lee and I were being assigned to work a case with you! You didn't stay retired for long, did you?"

Paul returned Amanda's hug and gave her hand a squeeze. Lee tried not to let his jealousy show on his face. He didn't want anyone touching her except for him.

"Well, Amanda, as I explained to Lee last night, I wasn't planning on coming out of retirement. This case just kind of landed in my lap while I was in Vienna. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try and nail one of the biggest arms dealers in Eastern Europe, Max Kahn. If we can get him, our foothold in the Communist countries and the middle east will be significantly stronger."

"Why have me and Lee help? Surely there must have been others closer to you in Vienna than to come all the way back here." Amanda questioned.

"Trust me, Amanda. This scenario is a much better one than to try and take him in Vienna. Besides, Lee is our in in getting close to Kahn. The whole thing hinges on him."

Amanda looked at Lee with a slightly puzzled, slightly excited expression on her face. Lee knew that sooner or later Amanda was going to have to learn his connection in this and who Robert Stevenson was to this case, but he would rather she didn't hear it while standing in her own kitchen.

"Tell you what," Lee butted in, "Why don't we get over to the agency and we can all get debriefed at once. Sound like a plan?"

"Great idea, Scarecrow." Paul said while grabbing Amanda's garment bag from her. "Did you two remember to pack your formal wear?"

"Oh yes, I brought a few gowns to choose from." Amanda said in a cheery voice.

"Great! I can hardly wait to see them!" Paul replied in a slightly flirtatious tone.

Lee's blood began to boil. He didn't know how he was going to make it through this weekend having to watch Paul and Amanda together.

"Let's go, huh?" Lee said with a very clearly agitated tone.

Amanda was a little taken aback at Lee's demeanor, but took his hint and began gathering her things. Lee help opened the kitchen door with one hand and held Amanda's suitcase in the other. Paul exited followed by Amanda. Lee inhaled deeply and exited, pulling the door shut behind him.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Billy dimmed the lights to the conference room making the projection coming more into focus; a handsome, yet hard-looking man's image now shown clearly on the screen before them. He seemed to be a man in his late 40's with jet black hair and ice blue eyes that penetrated you as you looked at them. His face was tan yet very weathered looking. His affect was that of discomfort and anger.

"Max Kahn" Billy stated. "Responsible for last month's bombing of a girls' day school in Berlin."

He changed the slide with the remote that he held in his hand. A horrific photo of a building surrounded in rubble appeared. On the ground were bodies covered in white tarps that were stained red with blood. He clicked the remote once more to reveal what appeared to be an army in the middle of the desert, all holding serious looking machine guns, bazookas and other weapons.

"Known arms dealer to the underground factions forming in the Middle East."

Amanda heard the click of the slide projector cartridge once again. The photo changed, this time revealing a woman's face. She had blonde hair and greenish gray eyes. Her face was slender and very attractive. Amanda estimated her age to be around that of her own.

"Hanna Mahler. East German. Doesn't seem to be officially associated with any formal East German government agency. Has done freelance work for East Germans, the Soviets, Communist China as well as several of the smaller Middle Eastern countries, including Iran. By herself, she is a moderate threat, but she has the tendency to team up with some heavy hitters."

The carousel advanced yet again. An image of Hanna and Max filled the screen.

"This photo was taken last week by our very own Paul Barnes while he was in Vienna. Paul, do you care to continue?" Billy asked as he stepped away from the head of the table.

Paul rose from his chair and stood in front of the image.

"This picture was taken at a party at the American Embassy last week. They were very careful to not stay together for too long, but they were interacting. I overheard them speaking of Senator Johnston's Charity Ball in Washington, DC. Hanna said that she had secured an invitation through Senator Johnston's wife. They had met earlier that month while sightseeing. Hanna told Kahn that everything was falling into place for the ball, that the necessary connections had been made and they should have no trouble following through with the rest of their plan. Thankfully, neither of them knew who I was. I was using the name Clifford Anderson and I don't think I was paid much attention to as I milled around them at the party."

Lee shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. "Any idea what this plan is?" he asked.

"Not completely, but it definitely involves someone big that they are anxious to meet up with."

"What is the plan as to how we're going to find out?" Amanda asked.

"Well, Amanda…that brings us to our next slide." Paul answered.

The clicking sounds of the carousel rhythmically played as the next slide appeared. There before her on the screen appeared Hanna locked in a passionate embrace with Lee. Both appeared in various stages of undress. Amanda gasped as she saw the image. Realizing what her reaction had been almost as soon as it escaped her mouth, she tried to cover up the shock by coughing. She could feel Lee's eyes on her but she couldn't bring herself to look at him. Why hadn't he told her about this before now? Why let her be exposed to this in front of everyone…..especially after the kiss they shared last night? She felt betrayed by his lack of information. The rational side of her knew that she was over reacting; the emotional side of her was still trying to breathe normally. Paul began to speak once again.

"May I introduce to you Robert Stevenson-American business man and oil tycoon from Austin, Texas."

The next slide appeared and showed Lee in a cowboy hat and an expensive looking suit. His face was younger, his expression was harder than the Lee she had come to know today; his eyes showed a deep pain she hadn't seen in him in a long time.

"Robert, or Bob as he is sometimes referred to, became close with Hanna in 1978 during the first signs of the oil crisis. Hanna was involved with a terrorist group that was intent on blowing up several of the US's oil refineries thus sending the American's even further into crisis. Thanks to Lee-he was able to get the important info we needed from Hanna and we were able to break up the terrorist ring."

"What happened to Hanna? Why didn't you arrest her, too?" Amanda questioned.

"She disappeared", Lee answered. "We were supposed to meet for dinner one night in Paris and she never showed. One of the agents tailing her was killed. I assumed that she had been killed, too. First I heard of her being alive was last night when I came home to Paul sitting in my apartment."

"Last night…he knew last night and he never said anything to me." Amanda said to herself. Lee could read the hurt on her face. He knew what she must be thinking.

"So", Amanda said as she cleared her throat, "Where do we go from here, Sir?"

Billy began to sense some uneasiness in the room. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on between Lee and Amanda. He thought that it would be wise to ignore it and move on.

"Lee will resume his role as Robert Stevenson and will coincidentally be at the same charity ball as Hanna. We are hoping that she will be willing to pick up where the two of you left off, Lee."

Lee shifted uncomfortably in his chair and forced a small smile on his face. The truth was that this was tearing him up inside. He had no desire to pick anything back up with Hanna or any other woman other than Amanda. He tried to make eye contact with Amanda but she refused to look in his direction.

"Amanda, you will be posing as Paul's wife, Samantha Anderson. This is a second marriage for you both. You have been married for a little over a year." Billy explained.

"Oh, still in the honeymoon phase!" Amanda said, hoping that it would provide a little zing in Lee's direction and zing him it did. He felt a lump rise in his throat and his mouth turn dry.

"Ha Ha! Well put, Amanda!" Paul interjected. "Or should I say Samantha?"

"Oh, I think I would be a Sam, don't you? But only to those I know well. To strangers, I think I should be called Samantha." Amanda focused her attention back to Billy. "What is it that I do, Sir? Do I work?"

"You are heavily involved in charitable volunteer work. We want to keep your cover as close to the real you as possible so it is less likely there will be any slip ups when talking about yourself. Everything you need to know about your cover is in this folder."

Billy slid the folder across the table to Amanda.

"Thank you, Sir."

"People, I don't need to remind you just how dangerous Kahn can be. He's up to something and we have less than 48 hours to figure out what it is. You 3 need to get into place as soon as possible. Francine and the back-up teams will be there tomorrow acting as wait staff at the party. Amanda, try and follow Hanna to all the places that Lee can't…..Ladies room, etc. places like that."

"Yes, Sir."

"Paul, you and Amanda get yourselves into the thick of things at that gathering. Let Lee distract Hanna and you two see what else you can observe and find out."

"We got it, Billy. Don't you worry. Amanda and I will be just fine. And Lee, we'll have your back, too."

"Thanks" Lee replied very flatly.

"Paul, why don't you come with me. Lee, Amanda-head down to wardrobe so they can set you up with a few things you are going to need. Meet us back in my office in about an hour."

Amanda nodded and began to read her file. Paul and Billy left the conference room and shut the door. The lamp from the slide projector was the only thing that illuminated the room. The silence between Lee and Amanda was deafening. Lee swallowed hard and took a deep breath. He knew he had some explaining to do to Amanda.

"Uh…Amanda…..I just wanted to say that…"

Amanda closed her folder and looked up at him. There was a sadness in her eyes that had not been there this morning.

"Lee? Why didn't you tell me? You could have told me last night on the phone or even this morning."

"Amanda! I wanted to tell you but…"

"But what? You didn't think it was an important detail? You didn't think it was something that maybe I would want to know?"

"It all happened long before I met you…..way before we began working together."

Lee pushed his chair back from the conference table and stood up. He was clearly upset, but at what Amanda wasn't sure.

"Lee, I know it was before we were working together but I thought that after, well after last night that you might have mentioned that you were being assigned to her again. That is unless….."

"Unless what?

Amanda turned her back to Lee and fought back some tears. "How could I be so stupid?" She whispered to herself.

"Amanda! Unless what?!" Lee asked again.

Amanda subtly wiped her eyes and turned back around.

"Never mind, Lee. I think I am blowing this whole thing out of proportion. You were under no obligation to tell me anything. We both have a job to do, so let's just go do it."

Amanda began to gather her belongings when she knocked the folder to the floor, spilling its contents everywhere. She quickly squatted down and began shoving the papers back into the folder. Lee knelt down to help her. He reached out and gently grabbed her wrist. She tried to pull away and refused to look at him. If she did, she was sure she would get teary again.

"Amanda, will you stop for a moment and look at me? Amanda! Stop!"

Amanda looked up into Lee's eyes.

"Please just stop and listen to me for a minute, OK?"

"Lee, you don't owe me an explanation. This is part of the job. You have people from your past that you have had to…..do things with in order to get information. I understand that."

Amanda stood up and straightened her shirt, nervously. Lee stood up with her and tried to read what Amanda was feeling.

"Right…" Lee began.

"And we are work partners. We have a relationship at work and nothing else."

"Work partners? Nothing else? Amanda, are you saying that we're don't mean anything to each other?"

"Of course not. I care very much about you and I am pretty sure you care about me, too. I would hate to have to work with someone else. But, as we see with this assignment, sometimes we have to work with someone else, right?"

Lee began to become noticeably agitated.

"OK Sure….FINE. If that is how you want to play it, Mrs. King, then that is FINE by me!" Lee said with great irritation in his voice.

"Well I didn't think you'd have a problem with it, Mr. Stetson! Seems like everything with you is all in the line of duty anyway, right?" Amanda shot back.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Come on, Lee. It's only a matter of time before you found some excuse why you kissed me last night and that we are only friends, only work partners. Lucky for you, you didn't need to come up with anything. Billy and Paul seemed to do it for you!"

Amanda could not have been more wrong. It was true that Lee had said those things to her in the past, but the kiss they shared last night….he can't think of anything in recent memory that he had wanted more. Maybe Amanda was right…maybe they were better off as just work partners and nothing more.

"That's not fair, Amanda! I didn't have a say in this! They sprung it on me last night!"

" AH-HA! EXACTLY!"

"Exactly what?"

"You knew last night! And you didn't think I should know. It was better than I be ambushed in this conference room!"

"Amanda! That's not fair! I tried to tell you last night. I just…."

"Not fair? NOT FAIR? Not fair to whom? You? Because being ambushed like this was certainly fair to me! You know what? Just forget it. Forget I said anything. I can't believe how stupid I was…."

Amanda pushed the chair out of the way, flung the door open and stormed out of the conference room. Lee wanted to go after her but thought better of it. The middle of the bullpen was not the place to be having this discussion. And to be honest, Lee wasn't sure he was ready for this discussion either. To get to the real heart of the matter, he would have to admit the true depth of his feelings for Amanda, and that was something that terrified him far more than any bullet ever could.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Amanda hardly said a word as she drove with Paul to the Senator's estate. All she could manage to do was stare out the window and fiddle with her sapphire rings that the agency's costume department had given to her.

"So, Sammy…..are we all set for today?" Paul asked.

"What? Oh yes….I am all set. Want to just review a few things, Cliff?"

"Cliff? Don't you see me more of a Clifford than a Cliff?"

Amanda looked at him for a moment.

"Actually…..no, I don't. All I can think of when I hear the name Clifford is Clifford the Big Red Dog. It's a children's book about this family that adopts this little red dog and he keeps growing until he out grows their house and they have to move. Phillip and Jamie loved that book, especially Phillip. He used to ask me to read it to him all the time, over and over again….I would offer to read him any other book he wanted, but no….all he wanted was Clifford the Big Red Dog."

Paul started laughing. Amanda realized that she had been rambling and stopped talking. A faint blush came to her cheeks.

"Sorry about that…..I tend to ramble from time to time."

"So I noticed! Lee wasn't kidding when he told me you did that!"

"Nope, that's me…..a rambler."

"Well, Cliff is fine with me. Anything else we should clear up before we get there?"

"Well, yes….the dossier says that we met a year and a half ago, we got married a year ago in Hawaii. But I've never been to Hawaii. What if someone asks me questions about Hawaii that I can't answer?"

"Well say something like It was a tropical paradise. We never wanted to leave."

"What if they ask me specific things?"

"Well…..tell them that we really didn't leave our room much because it was our honeymoon!"

Amanda laughed nervously. That was actually a good answer…..but she silently prayed that she would never have to say that. She again stared at her rings and the expensive purse and clothes the Agency gave her.

"And obviously, we are very rich!" she said holding up her hand with the largest ring.

"Yes! I come from inherited money and have never had to work a day in my life. I have dabbled in a few things here and there, but only for pleasure, not for necessity. We met at the Newport Jazz Festival last summer. Neither of us like jazz all that much, but were there because of the social scene."

"Hahaha! Yes I read that! And our home is in….."

"Penthouse apartment in NYC, although we are hardly ever there, beach house in North Carolina, house in Colorado, Cabin on Lake Tahoe-California side-much more exclusive, and of course our Brownstone here in Washington."

"Very good! You got all but one!"

"Which one?"

"Our ranch in Hidden Hills, CA where we have horses and beautiful grounds."

"Ah-that's right! And speaking of beautiful grounds…..here we are."

The couple stopped at the main gate and was greeted by a security guard.

"Good afternoon, son. Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Anderson." Paul said to the guard.

"Oh yes, here you are, right here on the first page! When you get to the end of the driveway, the valet will park your car for you."

"Thank you very much."

Paul turned the car down the long driveway to the Senator's estate. The stone driveway was canopied by huge oak trees and lined with a rock wall. The yard was perfectly manicured and looked so welcoming and inviting.

"This is really some place, isn't it, Cliff?"

"Oh, it sure is, Sammy baby! I haven't been here in years. So far, doesn't look like much has changed."

"You've been here before?"

"Yup-probably about 15-years ago."

"Aren't you afraid you'll be recognized?"

"No, there is a whole new group of people living here now. And anyone that might recognize me would be agency and would go along with my cover. No need to worry."

As the car pulled up to the house, Amanda could see the grandeur of the house. It was made of brick and seemed to go on forever. The gardens were in full bloom and just breathtakingly spectacular. In the distance, Amanda could see a large white tent set up in which she assumed dinner would take place this evening. She tried not to appear too enthralled with the estate as Samantha was supposed to be used to places like this. As the car stopped, a valet opened her door and offered her his hand as she stepped out of the car. Amanda took a moment to make sure she had gathered all her belongings. She looked fabulous in her sleeveless midnight blue summer dress that came just above the knee. The white belt accentuated her small waist and paid complement to her matching white pumps and wide brimmed, midnight blue sun hat. Paul walked around the car and greeted her, offering her his arm. She obliged and the two began to walk arm and arm into the house. Amanda tried to scan the yard and the small pockets of people that were already there in hopes that she would see Lee. The two of them had not spoken since she stormed out of the conference room. She regretted what had happened and wished that she had a chance to speak to him before this whole thing began.

"Ready, my dear?" Paul said in a hushed tone.

"As ready as I'm ever going to be!" Amanda replied with a huge fake grin on her face.

The two of them made their way into the house where they were immediately offered a cool beverage. Amanda gladly accepted a glass of iced tea and sipped it slowly through the straw.

"On behalf of Senator Johnston, we would like to welcome you." A young 20-something year old woman said to them. "May I have your names please?"

"Why of course, sweetheart. I am Mrs. Clifford Anderson, but you can call me Sam, and this is Mr. Clifford Anderson. We are just so excited to be here!" Amanda jumped in before Paul had the chance to answer. Paul stifled a grin as Amanda began playing Samantha.

"Yes, I have you right here, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. And I have you staying 2 nights with us. Is that correct?"

"Yes, just the two. We would love to stay more, but we have some other prior engagements." Amanda replied.

"Great! Well your luggage is being brought up to your room. You are in the east wing overlooking the rose garden and you will find your name on your door. Please feel free to enjoy the grounds. Dinner will be served this evening at 7 under the big white tent that you may have noticed on your way in. Dinner tonight is not black tie."

"Well thank you very much! I just know we are going to have a wonderful time this weekend!" Paul exclaimed. "What do you say we head up to our room and freshen up before we take a walk through the gardens?"

"Sounds like a plan!"

Paul leaned down to give Amanda a kiss on the cheek. As he did, he whispered to her that Hanna had just walked up the stairs towards the east wing. Amanda smiled and nodded.

"Once we find our room, I am going to head back down here to see what I can find out. I want you to snoop around upstairs and see if you can find her room. OK?" Paul whispered.

Amanda let out a soft giggle as if Paul had just told her something funny. "Absolutely, my love! Absolutely"

Lee entered the lobby just in time to watch Amanda and Paul laughing as they walked arm and arm up the stairs. He had to remind himself that this was just an assignment that they weren't really together. Never the less, a pit was forming in his stomach. Lee took in a deep breath and forced a grin on his face that was as big as the cowboy hat upon his head.

"May I offer you a beverage, sir?" One of the waitresses said to Lee.

"Heck, yes you can, little lady! Give me one of the strongest thing you got on that there tray!" said Lee in a nice thick Texas accent.

"These drinks are non-alcoholic but I will be happy to get you something from the bar if you'd like."

"Well, I would be most obliged. How about a scotch-neat. Actually why don't you make it a double, darlin'"

"Will do, sir."

"Aww honey, call me Bob-all my friends do and I can tell that you and I are going to become good friends this weekend!"

The young waitress giggled and beamed at big smile at Lee. He gave her a little wink as he headed over to the registration table. Lee casually scanned the room for any signs of Hanna or Kahn. He spotted a few of the agency's younger agents acting as hired help for the party. More than one attractive woman noticed Lee as he moseyed around the lobby. He had lost sight of Paul and Amanda and was trying desperately to push them out of his mind for the time being.

"May I help you sir?" The young woman behind the registration desk asked Lee.

"Well, yes. Yes you can, darlin'. Robert Stevenson checkin' in!"

"Ah, yes, Mr. Stevenson…"

"Bob, please! Mr. Stevenson is my daddy and he ain't here!"

The lass laughed at Lee. "OK, Bob….we have you in the east wing. You have a nice view of the rose garden. Your luggage is already being brought up. If you head up those stairs, you will find your room."

"Right up those stairs?" Lee asked as he pointed to the stairs that he saw Amanda and Paul ascending earlier.

"Yes, those right there."

"I don't suppose I could get you to offer me a personal escort up to my room, could I….Mindy?" Lee asked as he noticed the woman's name tag.

"Here is your scotch, and I will be happy to show you to your room." The returning hostess said to Lee.

"Well, I'd like that very much! What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Cassandra" she said with a flirtatious smile.

"Pleased to meet ya, Cassandra. You can call me Bob."

Lee offered Cassandra his arm as she led him up the stairs towards his room.

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

The first thing Amanda noticed when they entered the room was how sunny and cheery it was, that and the fact that she only saw one bed in the room. Lee said he had discussed the sleeping arrangements with Paul when he found out that they were paired together. Amanda never got a chance to hear what the outcome of that discussion was. As she pulled back the heavy drapes, the afternoon sun enveloped even more of the room. She has a wonderful bird's-eye view of the rose garden. There were blossoms of all colors: red, yellow, white, cream, pink, lavender and so many combinations of those…Amanda couldn't wait to go exploring among the fragrant roses.

"Mother would LOVE it here!" She muttered to herself.

"What's that, darling?" Paul called to Amanda as he removed a pair of headphones and some sort of scanner from his bag. Amanda knew to keep talking as if they were a married couple while Paul scanned the room for listening devices that may have been planted.

"Oh, I was just saying how much Mother would love it here and love to take a walk through the rose garden. You know how much she loves her roses!"

"I'm sure your mother would love it here, but forgive me for saying that I'm glad that she's NOT here and that you and I can spend some time alone together!"

Paul planted a light kiss on Amanda's cheek as he walked by her, scanning the window and the thick drapery.

"Oh, Cliff! Now be nice! I know you and Mother don't always get along but she is very fond of you. I think I will start unpacking. I need to hang up my clothes before they get wrinkled."

"Good idea, darling. Can you make sure you hang up my tux, too? And smooth out any wrinkles you might see?

"Of course…..I always do!"

Paul continued to walk around the room getting the scanner as close to every possible nook, cranny and hiding place in the room. Thankfully, nothing was being found that didn't already belong there. Amanda unzipped her garment bag and took out her gowns. She gently shook them trying to help any wrinkles that may have formed to fall. She opened the large walk-in closet and began to hang her clothing. Amanda was amazed at the size of the closet. She thought to herself that she could fit her entire family's clothing in this closet and still have room for more. Paul walked into the closet behind her and brushed her shoulder as he walked past. Amanda was a bit taken aback by the manner that he touched her, but quickly dismissed it as nothing inappropriate. She walked out of the closet and let Paul finish his work.

"Well, we are all clean, Amanda."

"Thank goodness. OK, so now what?"

"Well…we mingle. See what we can overhear. See if we can find Hanna. Lee should be here any time now. I would like it if we found Hanna before he does-just in case he is walking into something."

Amanda's mind quickly shifted to Lee at the mention of his name. How she wished that they had not fought this morning. She hated not knowing where he was, if he was in danger…what if something happened and the last things they said to each other were that they were nothing more than two people that worked together. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"Amanda?"

"Huh?" Amanda said as she snapped back into reality.

"I said are you ready to go and mingle?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry. I was just thinking about Philip and Jamie and hoping they got to their father's house ok. I'm sure they're fine. Let's get going."

As they headed for the door, they could hear a woman laughing wildly in the hall.

"Sounds like someone is having a good time!" Paul said with a smirk on his face.

Amanda rolled her eyes as she yanked open the door. There before her stood Lee in his cowboy hat, accompanied by Cassandra. Her eyes became as wide as saucers as she witnessed the hostess linked onto Lee's arm and flirting with him shamelessly. Lee tried to not show surprise when he saw Amanda emerge from the room.

"Well! Hello there little lady!" he said in his best southern accent as he tipped his hat to Amanda. "My name is Robert but you can call me Bob! I guess we're going to be neighbors this weekend! Cassandra here was just showin' me to my room." Lee gave Cassandra a kiss on the back of the hand and a wink. "Thank you, darlin'. I'm sure that I will be seeing more of you later"

Cassandra smiled and walked away down the hall.

"And how about you, sweetheart? You here by yourself, a pretty little thing like you? I could use some company at this shin-dig. I didn't catch your name."

Amanda wanted to smile at Lee's over the top persona and wanted nothing more than to be spending the weekend with him rather than with agency business. But she maintained her character and played along. Never know who might be watching.

"I am Mrs. Samantha Anderson. Pleased to meet you." Amanda said as she extended her hand to Lee.

"Mrs. huh? Is there a Mr. or is that just in name only?" Lee said as he grasped her hand, placing his other hand over hers and gave it a knowing squeeze.

"There is a Mr." Paul replied, "and I am he. Cliff Anderson. Pleased to meet you."

Paul reached out to shake Lee's hand.

"Well, pleased to meet y'all. Guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other this weekend! At least that's what I am hopin'." Lee said as he once again took Amanda's hand-this time placing a soft kiss in the palm of her hand and looking knowingly into her eyes. Amanda knew instantly that that kiss was from Lee, not from Bob. Her heart jumped in her chest. He knew that look on her face and his kiss said that he was sorry and that everything was ok. The smile she returned and the soft look in her eyes told him the same.

"Nice to meet you, Bob, was it? Come on, darling. Let's go tour those gardens. " Paul said as he led Amanda away down the hall.

Amanda grasped Paul's hand in her own, lacing their fingers together. Lee watched them walk away down the hall and swallowed hard. He entered his room and tried to focus on making sure that there were no surprises waiting for him. Lee took off his cowboy hat and tossed it Frisbee style onto the lavish king-sized bed. As he looked around the room, he couldn't help but wonder what Amanda's room looked like. Was there a bed as inviting as this one in her room? Would Paul convince her to share it with him? Lee went into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. He looked at himself in the mirror-water droplets dancing on his cheeks.

"Get a grip on yourself, Stetson. This is only an assignment. Amanda is not that kind of girl." Lee said to himself angrily.

A soft knocking at the door got his attention. He was sure that it was Amanda coming back to talk to him. He grabbed a hand towel and quickly dried off his face. His stride was hopeful as he crossed the room and swung open the door only to find a porter standing in the hallway with his luggage, not Amanda.

"Mr. Stevenson? I have your bags." The Porter said in a cheery voice.

Lee's smile quickly disappeared.

"Is there something wrong, Mr. Stevenson?"

"What? Oh no, son. I just thought you were that cute little filly that showed me up to my room, that's all. Come on in. Could you put the bags right there on the bed?"

"No problem, sir."

Lee pressed a $20 into the young man's hand.

"Thank you, sir! Can I get you anything else?"

"Just point me in the right direction for a refill on my Scotch!"

"Absolutely, Mr. Stevenson. Are you going out to the gardens or should I have one delivered to you?"

"Oh, I think I will head outside and see what kind of trouble I can get in to! Know what I mean, son?" Lee said with a chuckle and a wink.

"Indeed I do, sir! In that case, when you go outside, you will see a bar and bartender over near the big tent where dinner will be served tonight. You can get a drink there or you can ask one of the many waiters or waitresses to get one for you."

"Well, thank you very much! Much obliged!"

"If there is anything else I can do for you, my name is Mac. Have a pleasant stay."

Mac shut the door behind him as he left Lee's room. Lee let out a heavy sigh and began pacing around the room. Out of his pocket, he produced the same type of room sweeper that Paul had been using only a few moments earlier. Lee was sure to sweep every inch of his room for possible bugs. He drew back the heavy drapes and began to scan to window that looked out over the garden. It was then that he saw her…..Amanda, looking like she just stepped out of an Audrey Hepburn movie. The sunlight danced on her bronzed skin, her fine wisps of her hair escaping from under her large sun hat, her dark sunglasses making her look all the more mysterious than she already was to him. Lee watched her as she laughed with a few of the party guests. One man in particular seemed to have taken quite a shine to Amanda. He was constantly touching her arm and whispering in her ear. Where was Paul? Why wasn't he stopping this man? Lee grabbed his hat off the bed and headed for the door. It was time for him to join the party.

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Amanda tried to politely remove the gentleman's arm from around her waist. He had already had too much to drink and was getting more than friendly with Amanda.

"Samantha, did I tell you yet that you are the most beautiful woman at this party?" The drunk man said to her.

"Oh, yes, Fredrick, I am pretty sure you did", she said as she tried to twist her way out of his grip but every time she moved, Fredrick seemed to squeeze her tighter.

"Where you going, Samantha? Isn't this nice just being here together like this? Your husband won't mind."

Amanda had had enough of his groping and felt it was time to take matters into her own hands. She grabbed his middle finger and began to bend it backwards towards his wrist. The man yelped in pain and released his grip from her waist.

"Damn, woman! What did you go and do that for?" he yelled.

Amanda freed herself from his grasp and quickly turned to leave only to run smack into another party goer.

"Easy there, little lady! Where's the fire?"

"Oh! I am so sorry, I….." Amanda stopped midsentence as she looked up into Lee's beautiful eyes looking down at her as he held her softly by the arms.

"It's OK, Honey….you can run into me anytime you'd like!" Lee said with a wink and his finest Texan drawl.

"I just didn't see you there. I was just going to find my husband." She said-more for the benefit of Fredrick that refused to leave her alone.

"Well, let's go find him together, shall we? And maybe in our travels we can find ourselves some adult beverages. What do ya say?"

Lee offered Amanda his arm. She happily cozied her arm up within his as they walked out of the garden and onto the vast patio.

"Thank you very much! He was all hands!"

"Where's your husband, Mrs. Anderson?"

"I'm not sure. He thought he saw Hanna and was going to investigate."

"I see you managed to find someone to keep you company."

"HA! Hardly! I couldn't get rid of him! Do you know he pinched my behind? I think he left a bruise!"

Lee turned his head and glanced at her taut behind and gently patted it saying, "Looks just fine to me!"

Amanda gasped and laughed at the same time. She was shocked that Lee was touching her behind but loved it none the less! She was careful to not blow their cover by calling Lee by his name. Instead she just smiled.

Lee and Amanda made their way onto the patio and began to intermingle with the other guests. A waitress was speaking to a couple just in front of them. Lee grabbed her arm.

"Excuse me, Darlin' but when you get a chance….."

Amanda tried not to gasp when the waitress turned around and revealed herself to be none other than Francine. Lee's eyes got wide and he stifled a laugh. Francine seemed stunned to see them both.

"When you get a chance, little lady…I sure would like a big ol' glass of Scotch….neat."

Francine pursed her lips together tightly and gave a quick nod of the head. "Sure. Right away"

"Oh, hold up there, girlie", Lee called after Francine. "Bring my friend here a nice glass of Beaujolais while you're at it!"

Francine glared at Lee as she walked away.

"Ohhhh. You know she's going to kill you later for calling her girlie. I didn't know Francine was going to be here this weekend."

"From the look on her face, she didn't know we were going to be here either. Billy said that she would be around, but I didn't expect to see her until tomorrow. There must be some new developments. Do you see your husband anywhere?"

Amanda looked at Lee as he taunted her poking fun at the fact that she was posing as Paul's wife. She wasn't about to let him get the best of her.

"Oh, you mean that sexy hunk of a man with all that luscious black hair that I just want to run my hands through? That husband?"

Amanda observed that little muscle on the side of Lee's temple jump as it always did when he was trying not to lose his temper. Lee inhaled sharply and replied.

"Yup, that's the one!"

Amanda smirked.

"Oh, wait! I see him over there, talking to that gorgeous little blonde thing that is built in all the right places. What do you say we mosey on over and get ourselves better acquainted?" Lee replied.

Lee began walking across the patio without waiting for Amanda. He was making a bee-line for the blonde woman. Amanda followed closely behind.

"Oh, there you are sweetheart!" Amanda called to Paul. As she met his side, she gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "I was worried about you! You've been gone so long!"

Paul put his arm around Amanda and smiled.

"I'm sorry darling! I got to talking with so many people, including this charming young woman." Paul turned and looked at the blonde woman with a confused look on his face. "I'm sorry, I am being rude. Darling, this is…"

"Well, if it isn't my neighbor from across the hall! Carl!" Lee said as loudly and obnoxiously as possible.

"Um, Cliff. It's Cliff not Carl. How are you Mr. Stevenson?"

"Oh I told you to call me Bob! Mr. Stevenson is my daddy and he ain't here!" Lee began to chuckle.

"Ok, Bob, if you insist. Sam, I was just about to introduce you to my new friend whose name I am so ashamed that I have forgotten."

"Julia. Julia Straub"

Lee stepped in between Paul and Julia. He grabbed her hand and quickly brought it to his lips.

"It's a pleasure to meet such a fine lookin' woman as yourself, Miss Julia. I am Bob." Lee said as he planted a firm kiss on the back of her hand.

Amanda smiled her best fake smile as she grabbed onto Paul's arm. She didn't like seeing Lee's lips kissing any part of anyone other than her. Julia let out a soft giggle as Lee released her hand.

"Very nice to meet you, Bob."

"What do you say you and I go in search of something to drink, Miss Julia? I don't know about you but I am powerful thirsty."

Placing his hand on the small of her back, Lee led Julia away from Paul and Amanda towards the bar at the white tent.

"It was nice to meet you both" Julia said over her shoulder to Paul and Amanda as she left with Lee. Amanda watched as Lee's tall stature dwarfed the petite blonde. He bent down and whispered something in her ear that had her laughing in seconds. Amanda could feel her cheeks flush with envy.

"You're drink, Ma'am" Amanda heard a voice say. She looked up to see Francine looking her in the eye carrying a tray of beverages.

"Oh, uh…..thank you", Amanda said as she reached out and took the glass of wine, unsure if she should acknowledge the fact that it was Francine.

"Will the gentleman that was with you be returning? I have his Scotch neat." Francine asked.

"No, he will not be returning and I will be happy to take that off your hands", Paul said as he began downing the Scotch as if it were water. Cautiously glancing around to make sure that no one was in ear shot, Paul began to question Francine. "What are you doing here? Billy said you were coming in tomorrow."

"I wasn't supposed to be here until tomorrow but we got this in a coded message from one of our agents in Berlin." Francine said in hushed tones as she offered Paul a cocktail napkin with the message written on the inside of the fold. "No idea what it means, but Billy thought it was important enough to bring to you and get me in a day early."

Amanda casually took the napkin from Paul and pretended to wipe a smudge off of his cheek.

"There you go, sweetheart. Much better!" She said as she neatly folded the napkin and slipped it into her purse.

"Can I get you anything else, Sir?" Francine asked in a hurried manner as other guests began to walk past them.

"Maybe later. This Scotch will do just fine for now." Paul answered in a somewhat dismissive tone as he walked away from Francine. "Darling? Shall we continue our tour of the grounds?"

Amanda turned around to look at Paul over the tops of her sunglasses and gave him a gentle smile.

"Oh yes! I can't wait to see more of this spectacular home. We should find out who their landscape architect is. Our grounds can use a little sprucing, don't you think?" Amanda said for the benefit of those party goers around her.

"Anything for you, my love! "Paul said as he kissed the back of Amanda's hand. "Shall we?"

Paul and Amanda strolled casually along the garden path looking for a spot where Amanda could open up the napkin and read what the message said. They came to a very lush part of the garden with big over grown grasses and shrubs, benches to sit on and think while you pondered the beauty of the scenery around you. Paul and Amanda quickly slipped into the most secluded spot they could find. Amanda rummaged through her clutch to find the folded up napkin. It was then that she heard them.

"Oh, Bob! I can't believe it's really you! I….I thought you were dead! They told me you were dead!" the woman's voice said.

"Oh, I'm not dead Hanna. I am very much alive! I assure you! Let me prove it to you." Amanda's blood ran cold as she heard Lee speaking from the other side of the bush that she was standing next to. What she heard next was perhaps the most difficult of all. Suddenly, Amanda could hear the two people kissing and softly moaning. Her heart was breaking at every utterance.

"Looks like Lee has found Hanna!" Paul whispered into Amanda's ear. He remained stationed by her side and began intimately caressing her jaw line with his hand as he continued to whisper to her. "That was a much easier reunion than I anticipated. Let's hope Lee can get some information out of her."

"It's just an assignment! It's just an assignment!" Amanda kept screaming to herself inside her head. "Lee is only kissing her because it is an assignment, not because he wants to."

"Hanna, darlin'…..what happened to you? I waited for you at our café in Paris and you never showed. I went over to your hotel and you had checked out. Why did you leave me so suddenly?" Lee questioned.

Silence was the only reply that Paul and Amanda heard. The silence seemed to last forever until Lee finally spoke again.

"Why won't you talk to me, Hanna? Just tell me what happened. I thought we meant something to each other." Lee pleaded.

"We did mean something to each other, Bob! It's just…I can't tell you here. Can we please talk about this later? Can't we just enjoy the fact that we found each other again?"

Lee gently grabbed Hanna by the arms and kissed her again. "OK…we can talk later. Let's go take a walk and talk."

"No, Bob….I can't. I just need to…..just meet me tonight, here…about 9:00pm. We'll talk then."

Paul heard footsteps coming closer to them. He quickly grabbed Amanda and began kissing her as a cover. He took her by surprise and she let out a muffled yelp under Paul's lips. She quickly realized why Paul was kissing her and stopped fighting him. Amanda allowed Paul to pull her close to him and hold her tight as he continued to explore her mouth with his own. She didn't even notice Hanna come running out from behind the bush and continue past them. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard Lee's voice shouting after Hanna. Amanda wrapped her arms around Paul's neck and pulled him closer to her. Lee suddenly appeared from behind the bush chasing after Hanna. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the woman that he loved in the arms of Paul Barnes. He could hardly believe his eyes. The more he tried to look away, the more he couldn't move. Paul was locked in a passionate embrace with Amanda…just like the many he had fantasized about over and over again with her. He knew Paul and he suspected that Paul had feelings for Amanda. Did she have feelings for him, too?

"It's just an assignment!" he said to himself as he watched Amanda slip further from his grasp.

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

It took Lee a moment to catch his breath after seeing Amanda lip to lip with Paul. He quickly realized that he could easily blow his cover if he wasn't careful. He cleared his throat loudly and jumped back into character.

"Hanna! Hanna, honey! Wait! Don't run off!" He shouted after Hanna as he jogged away from Amanda and Paul and down the path.

Amanda jumped at the sound of Lee's voice. She could feel her cheeks flush as she realized that she had been lost in the moment while kissing Paul. Paul released his grip on Amanda's shoulders and took a step back. He noticed Lee running down the path after Hanna. He was quite sure that Hanna had not taken notice of the necking couple almost directly in her escape path.

"Well, Lee has finally made contact with Hanna…..Hopefully we will get some answers soon." Paul said.

"Yeah, he's made contact alright…..." Amanda said as her voice trailed off.

"Let's take a look at the note Francine slipped us."

Amanda fished the napkin out of her small purse and opened it. The words written upon it were a bit smudged and the handwriting was terrible but still legible.

"M. Lincoln Saturday" Amanda read aloud from the napkin. She looked up at Paul with a confused look on her face. "Is that some kind of code?"

Paul took the napkin from her hand and examined the message to see if there was something that they were missing. "M. Lincoln Saturday" he muttered under his breath as he began to pace.

"Well? Any idea what that means?" Amanda asked.

"Hell if I know. It doesn't match any of our codes."

Amanda noticed others staring down the garden path. She thought it was better if they vacated their little hideaway.

"Sweetheart, why don't we worry about this later, huh?" She said indicating with her eyes that they were no longer alone. "I thought you promised me a glass of wine!"

"That I did, darling. Shall we go and find one?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Hanna was well out of sight by the time Lee stopped jogging down the path. He could have caught her if he wanted to, he was more concerned with getting away from Amanda and Paul.

"Damn it!" he screamed inside his own mind. He knew he didn't have anything to be mad about. After all, he was just kissing Hanna. He knew in his head that this was just an assignment, and Amanda kissing Paul was nothing more than that…or at least that is what he hoped. His heart, however was a different story. He couldn't get the image of the two of them out of his mind. "It should be ME holding her like that and kissing her like that! Why can't I just tell her how I feel? DAMN IT!" Lee dialogued with himself as he paced back and forth kicking the ground as he traveled.

"Easy there, cowboy!" a voice said.

Lee looked up to see Francine standing before him.

"Franc…" Lee stopped himself before he finished her name. Again, he could have blown his cover if he wasn't careful.

"I have been looking everywhere for you, sir. Here is the drink you ordered." Francine said as she handed him a glass.

"Oh…..right. Thank you little lady. Appreciate it." Lee sniffed the beverage within the glass and then drank it right down in one gulp.

"Easy Lee!" Francine said in a hushed whisper. "What's got you all hot and bothered?"

Lee looked at her with fire in his eyes. He was clenching his jaw so tightly that his temple muscles were dancing with each grinding of the teeth. He inhaled deeply as he prepared to answer her, but she beat him to it. A devilish smirk broke out across her face and her eyes began to twinkle.

"Ooooh! I know what has gotten you so upset!" Francine said with a saccharine sweetness to her voice-gesturing to something behind Lee. "They really do make a nice couple, don't they?"

Lee spun around to see what Francine was talking about. There he saw Paul and Amanda walking out of the garden, arm in arm. Lee looked down at the ground for a moment and recomposed himself. The only thing he knew to do was to throw himself deeper into his character and push his feelings for Amanda aside.

"Well, well. If it isn't my neighbors! Ya'll goin' to the shin dig tonight? I sure would like a chance to dance with you pretty lady!" Lee said to Amanda as he grabbed her hand and held it between his own.

"Oh! Yes! We'll be going Mr…"

"Honey, I done told you that my daddy is Mr., I am just plain ol' Bob!"

"I'm sorry, I forgot…Bob. Yes we'll be going."

"How about that dance?"

"We'll see. Didn't I see you with another woman a few moments ago?" Amanda said with an edge to her tone.

"Well, that may be true but that don't mean that there ain't room on my dance card for you, too. Well that is if it is ok with the hubby."

Lee looked at Paul. Without realizing it, he attempted to make his chest as broad as he could as you would see one animal do to another when they were fighting over a mate.

"I'm sure something can be arranged, Bob. My wife can make her own decisions." Paul then turned to Francine. "I'm glad to see you here….could you please get my wife a glass of chardonnay and a 7 and 7 for me? Oh, and could you throw this away for me?"

"Right away, sir." Francine said as she walked away.

"Paul….why did you give Francine back the napkin? Don't we want to have it analyzed or something?" Amanda asked with a bit of panic in her voice.

"It's not the same napkin. I wrote her a message on the new one." Paul replied.

"You did? When did you do that? And what if she doesn't notice that you did and throws that one away? You know that one time, Jamie left me a note that he wrote on the back of his lunch bag. I saw this wrinkled old lunch bag just sitting there on the counter and I thought to myself "Why can't that child ever throw anything away for himself"…well little did I know that…."

"Amanda!" Lee interjected causing her to stop in mid sentence. "She'll look at the napkin, don't worry."

"But how do you KNOW she will, she might just throw it away."

"She won't throw it away!" Lee shot back.

"But how do you KNOW?"

"BECAUSE" Lee began to shout at her. His abrupt sternness startled Amanda and she visibly tensed up. He was not annoyed at her rambling or her questions, but rather that she had been in the arms of Paul Barnes.

"Because….."Paul said in a calm voice attempting to put Amanda at ease, "I gave her the code before I handed her the napkin." Paul gave Lee a reprimanding look.

"What code? I didn't see you give her a code." Amanda questioned as she slightly turned away from Lee.

"7 and 7" Lee snapped. "THAT was the code" ,he said in an aggravated but hushed tone.

Amanda looked at Lee with hurt written all over her face. He knew immediately that he was letting his emotions get the better of him. Paul looked at both of them and tried to read the situation.

"Darling, why don't you try and go get some details about tonight's dinner and meet me back in the room in about 20 minutes." Paul said to Amanda.

"Ok, sweetheart. I think I can manage that ok. See you then." Amanda walked away without making eye contact with Lee.

Lee put his hands in his pockets and kicked at the ground.

"What the hell is the matter with you, Scarecrow?" Paul said getting very close to Lee's face.

"Nothing! Nothing is the matter."

"Really? Is that why you just bit Amanda's head off? If seeing Hanna again has stirred up old feelings for her, then deal with it! We are here to do a job and it is going to take us all to do it…..working as a TEAM."

"Hanna? You think that seeing Hanna again has put me in a bad mood?"

"Well, something has. If not her, then what?

Lee looked at Paul. He so desperately wanted to blurt out to him that seeing him kissing Amanda was what put him in this state.

"Ok…fine. Maybe you're right. Seeing Hanna definitely stirred something up."

"Well pull it together. What did you find out from her?"

Lee inhaled deeply and ran his hand through his hair. "Not a whole lot. She was afraid to talk to me. She thought that I was dead. That's all she would say. She told me to meet her again tonight in the garden at 9."

"Think it's a trap?"

"Could be….only one way to find out. I will be meeting her later tonight. Did Francine have anything for you?"

Paul took out the napkin and showed it to Lee.

"M. Lincoln Saturday" Lee looked up at Paul perplexed. "Any idea what the hell that means?"

"Nope, not yet. I am hoping that it means we have at least 24 hours to figure it out given that today is Friday."

"What did you ask Francine for in the message you slipped her?"

"I asked her for a listing of everything that is going on here on the grounds tonight and tomorrow. Hopefully we can find something in that list. I have the party guest list in my room. Amanda and I will go through it and look for M. Lincoln."

"You know it's not going to be that easy, don't you?"

"Yup. It never is."

"Well let's head back up to your room and I will help you and Amanda look through the names."

"No, Scarecrow. You need to stay down here and mingle. See what you can find out. Amanda and I can handle this."

Lee clenched his teeth again and stared at Paul. His mind brought him back to the soft kiss he shared with Amanda on her back porch…..the moment when he came so close to telling her he loved her. Paul's voice brought him out of his daydream.

"Besides, a man wants to spend some alone time with his wife…..if you know what I am saying." Paul said as he began to chuckle.

The words were barely out of Paul's mouth before Lee reacted with a fist to Paul's jaw. Paul fell to the ground. Lee looked at his fist in horror realizing what he had done.

"Oh shit!"

To be continued….


	8. Chapter 8

Paul reached up and touched his lip. The metallic taste growing in his mouth told him that Lee's punch drew blood. Lee stood there looking in horror at the scene before him: Paul on the ground with his lip bleeding, and Lee's fist was the thing that put him there. What would he say to Paul? What would he say to Amanda? He didn't even know how to explain it to himself. He couldn't believe that he just snapped like that. Why couldn't Paul have just left Amanda out of this mission? None of this would be happening.

Lee slowly lowered his fist and looked at Paul. A lump in his throat choked off his ability to make words. The apology that Lee wanted to say was stuck in his throat. Paul looked at him with angry eyes. He picked himself up off the ground as he wiped the blood that trickled from his lip.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" Paul shouted at Lee.

Lee looked at Paul for a moment….he felt as if every muscle in his body was frozen in fear….fear that he would need to reveal his reasons behind his actions. He wasn't ready to reveal how he felt about Amanda. A thousand thoughts raced through Lee's mind as he tried to come up with a cover story for his actions.

"Paul…..I…" Lee began.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by Francine. She rushed over to them carrying a tray of drinks, including Paul's 7 and 7.

"Your drink, sir." Francine said as she handed the drink to Paul. He immediately took a large swig of the beverage as he glared at Lee over the rim of the glass.

"What have you got for us, Francine?" Paul barked.

"Again….not much", she replied. "There are no guests here with the name Lincoln."

"What about any connections to someone with the name Lincoln?" Barns inquired.

"We're checking. But it's going to take time."

"Francine, you should also have them check to see if there are any projects with the code name Lincoln that perhaps someone is working on." Lee added.

"We're doing that, too. We have every available man on this doing research, but again…"

"It's going to take time…." Lee said finishing Francine's thought.

Paul took another large gulp of his drink, this time wincing a bit from the pain of his lip.

"What happened to your lip?" Francine asked as she looked up at the forming scab in the corner of Paul's mouth.

"I'm not really sure." Paul replied staring down Lee. Lee shifted uncomfortably.

Francine looked at them both with confusion. She could feel the tension in the air and did her best to not exacerbate the situation.

"Any sign of Kahn?" Lee asked.

"No, no sign of Kahn, but Amanda was doing a good job working the crowd. She had been chatting up several people including Senator Johnston's wife and Hanna Mahler." Francine said with a cynical tone.

"She's only been gone a few minutes! How in the hell did she manage to engage Hanna in conversation?" Lee snapped.

"Well, as Amanda herself says, she has the gift of gab." Francine said as she rolled her eyes.

Paul chuckled in his throat. "Amanda certainly is proving herself to be a good agent, isn't she? I asked her to go find out the details about tonight's dinner and instead, she has managed to chat up the one person that we are looking at here at this party…and all in about….10 minutes." He said as he checked his watch.

"She has a real talent for getting into the thick of things in no time flat." Lee replied.

"Yeah….let's hope that she doesn't get herself involved in the terrorist ring that Mahler has going with Kahn. Knowing Amanda, she's likely to think that she is going to a Betty Crocker cook-off and really be walking right into a snake pit of terrorists and mad bombers. She has a knack for trouble…..and it's always up to us to rush in and save her." Francine added.

"Now, wait a minute, Francine….that's not exactly fair to say. She doesn't ALWAYS get things messed up and she doesn't ALWAYS need anyone to rush in. In fact, she has stumbled on some of the best leads we have gotten on cases using those…..wacky instincts of hers."

Francine's eyes widened in disbelief as she let out a chuckle.

"Are you serious, Lee? Wacky instincts? Don't you mean destructive impulses? You of all people should know what a nightmare she can be!"

Lee drew in a sharp breath and tried to keep his cool.

"That's enough, Francine. She is NOT a nightmare and you know damn well that she is a good agent!" Lee said raising his voice.

Paul was taken aback at watching Lee and Francine argue. A slight grin began to spread across his face as he touched the now scabbing cut on his lip.

"Ok, Ok you two. Enough! Get your heads back in the game!" Paul scolded. "Francine, anything else for me?"

Lee and Francine sheepishly looked at Paul as they quickly realized their bickering had gotten out of hand.

"We put all the info we have on the party guests in your room hidden in a garment bag that is hanging in your closet." Francine said apologetically. "There's not much new information that what we already had, but we are continuing to look. And I am sorry to say, right now we don't have a clue who M. Lincoln is and what his or her connection is to Kahn."

Lee paced back and forth as he ran his hand through his hair. A million thoughts ran through his mind, most of them being about Amanda. He swiftly grabbed his cowboy hat and placed it on his head.

"Well, little darlin', thanks for the drink. I will be seein' you at dinner tonight. I gotta go see a man about a horse." Lee said as he quickly popped back into his cover persona and walked away.

Francine stood there stunned as she watched Lee walk away. She pivoted on her heel and looked at Paul.

"What was that?" She exclaimed.

"I have a feeling…let him go in search of Hanna. I will round up Amanda and get looking through the new files. I'll talk to you tonight at the dinner." Paul said as he gulped down the rest of his 7 and 7.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

"And if you look over here, you will see the cherry tree that my husband brought me back from Japan almost 15 years ago. It is from the same family as the cherry trees that adorn the National Mall." Mrs. Johnston told Amanda as she pulled her by the arm around the gardens.

"Oh, it's very lovely. I bet in the spring it is absolutely breath taking!" Amanda replied.

"It is! It is, my dear! You should be sure to come see it next spring. It's like nothing you have seen before!" Mrs. Johnston beamed.

"That would be wonderful and I am sure my mother would absolutely love to see it and your beautiful gardens."

"Well you should be sure to bring her along! The more the merrier!" Mrs. Johnston leaned in close to Amanda. "You know….I really shouldn't tell you, but last spring, Senator Blackwell's wife, Kathleen came to see my gardens…..she was absolutely 3 sheets to the wind when she got here. Stumbling all over the place! Well it was embarrassing for her!"

"Really? Well that is shocking!" Amanda replied, unsure as to why she had just become privy to that information.

"Oh it was! I assure you…..I really shouldn't have said anything. But you seem just so easy to talk to, Samantha. You won't say anything to your husband, will you?"

Amanda shook her head and mimed locking her lips with an imaginary key. "My lips are sealed" she reassured.

"Good! Never can be too careful! Oh! Samantha, walk with me for a moment! There is someone I would like to introduce you to." She said as she pointed to a woman across the yard. Dragging Amanda in tow, the two women crossed the garden path and came up upon the woman of interest. "Hanna, darling! I am so glad you could make it!"

"Hello, Mrs. Johnston" Hanna replied using her best American accent. Amanda immediately recognized her face, especially the eyes, from the photos that she had seen this morning at the agency.

"No, no, my dear! I have told you to call me Janet, not Mrs. Johnston. And I wanted to introduce you to someone. This is Samantha Anderson, a lovely young woman that I have had the pleasure of talking with."

Amanda extended her hand to Hanna. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Hanna was it?"

Amanda could feel her pulse quicken. She had made contact without meaning to with Hanna Mahler. She was Lee's assignment…Lee…..Lee was just kissing her. Amanda knew that she had to be careful of what she showed on her face. She slowly inhaled and put her best smile forward.

"Yes, Hanna. Pleasure to meet you, too." Hanna replied nervously.

"Hanna? You look upset. Is everything ok?" Janet inquired.

"Yes…yes I am fine. I was just um….thinking about someone that I used to know."

Amanda knew who that someone was. She wondered if he was thinking about Hanna, too. Part of her was sorry that she accepted this assignment. Seeing Lee with someone else was proving to be rather difficult.

"Samantha, Hanna and I met in Europe of all places! Can you believe it! It was just kismet that we happened to be at that same party. I shouldn't be saying anything, but I helped hide Hanna from a very unsavory party goer. Remember that, Hanna? What was his name again? Mike? Matt? Max! Yes it was Max! Angry little man…..He didn't get the hint that Hanna didn't want to talk to him. I hid her in the butler's pantry while I assembled some things in the kitchen. I instantly knew that we would be friends! I have the same feeling about you."

Amanda's ears perked up at the sound of Max's name. She had stumbled onto something important here. "That is very sweet of you to say, Janet! I look forward to getting to know you both better. Hanna, will you be at the dinner tonight?"

"Dinner? Uh…yes, yes I believe I will be there."

"Of course she will be there!" Janet interjected "And she will be at my table! And so will you, Samantha!"

"Wow! That is quite an honor. But I do have to tell you that I am here with my husband. I think he will be upset if I leave him to sit alone." Amanda replied.

"Well, of course he would…that's why he will be sitting with us!"

"Great! He will be excited to hear where we are sitting. What about you, Hanna? Will your husband be joining us?" Amanda said probingly to see if perhaps Max was with her.

"No….I am not married. I am here by myself."

"Not by yourself, honey! You have me!" Janet said as she swung an arm around Hanna's shoulder. Hanna smiled a gentle smile at Janet. Amanda watched the smile turn to fear as she spied something in the distance.

"Excuse me, ladies. I need to go. I will see you tonight." Hanna said as she sped off towards the house.

Amanda turned around to see what or who was frightening Hanna. She was sure that she would see Max, instead she saw Lee. He was walking like a man on a mission. He was headed into the large white tent and didn't seem to notice her standing in the garden. Amanda could tell by his walk that he was still angry.

"Oh dear…..Samantha, will you excuse me? I want to see what has Hanna so upset. See you at dinner?"

"Absolutely! Don't worry about me."

Amanda watched Janet walk the same path that Hanna just traveled. As soon as Hanna and Janet were out of sight, Amanda turned around to follow Lee into the tent. She knew he would want to hear about Max…and Amanda wanted to know once and for all what had Lee so upset.

**To be continued….**


	9. Chapter 9

"I'll have another, little darlin'" Lee said to the woman behind the bar. He was throwing back Scotches like they were water. By the time Francine caught up with him, he was ordering his 3rd.

"Uh, I'll get it for him, Lisa. Why don't you take a break", Francine said to the bartender.

Lisa smiled and mouthed "Thanks" to Francine as she walked away. Francine grabbed the carafe of iced tea and poured Lee a serving in the same type of glass in which they were serving the Scotch.

"Here you are, sir." Francine said as she placed the glass in front of Lee.

Lee grabbed the glass without even looking up at Francine and took a swig.

"Hey! This ain't what I…." Lee began as he looked up into Francine's disapproving eyes.

"What the hell has gotten into you? You've got to pull yourself together! We are on assignment!" Francine scolded Lee in very close and very hushed tones.

He looked down at the bar, knowing that she was right. He needed to get back into Agency mode and stop thinking about Paul's commentary about Amanda. Francine continued to stare at Lee waiting for some type of response. He could feel her gaze burning a hole through the top of his head.

"_Do you hear me?_"

Lee jerked his head up and looked straight into her eyes. The fire that danced in both of their expressions was enough to spark a flame.

"Yes, I hear you! I am very much pulled together, thank you! I am doing my job. How about you do yours?"

With that, Lee grabbed his hat off of the bar and stormed off. Francine shook her head in disbelief. It wasn't like Lee to lose his cool like he has with this assignment. And she was no dummy. She knew that Lee was responsible for Paul's lip. She just wished she knew what the hell was going on.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Amanda was nearly knocked over by Lee as he stormed out of the tent and brushed past her without giving her as much as a glance. Frozen in confusion, Amanda peered into the tent and made eye contact with Francine, who just slowly shook her head at Amanda. Amanda began to shrug her shoulders at Francine as she felt a hand on her back. Her heart leaped as she breathed a sigh of relief that Lee had changed paths and was ready to talk. She spun around with a big smile upon her face.

"There you are, Sweetheart. Ready to go back to our room for a little rest before dinner?"

Amanda's smile quickly faded as she saw that it was Paul and not Lee touching her.

"Oh…..yes….yes, absolutely! I was just looking for you."

Paul offered Amanda his arm and off they began walking. Unbeknownst to them, Lee was watching this exchange and doing his best to remind himself that this was just an assignment. And unbeknownst to all of them, Max Kahn was merely 100 feet away from the very people who were so desperate to find them. They did not see him, but he most certainly saw them and was at that very moment, planning their demise.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Amanda pulled off her sun hat and flung it on the bed. Her shoes were the next to come off. Paul held up his finger to his lips indicating that she should remain quiet. He pulled out the bug tracking device and began to sweep the room again. There was no telling who could have been in their room while they were out.

"Darling? Did you get more information about dinner tonight?" Paul said as he walked around the room looking for listening devices.

"Mmmhmm. I did. I met Senator Johnston's wife, Janet. She is such a lovely woman. Took a liking to me immediately. You know, she reminds me so much of my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Morrow. So kind and gentle, yet full of life and smiles. One time, I had forgotten my homework at home and I was so upset. Well, Mrs. Morrow…"

"Uh, Darling? Dinner?"

"What? Oh….sorry! Rambling again. Anyway, Janet said that dinner is at 7 with drinks starting at 6:00. Casual, but not too casual she was sure to point out to me. I think I will wear my black dress pants and my new white halter that you brought back for me on your last trip."

"Oh, I have been waiting for you to wear that. I thought you didn't like it."

"Of course I love it! But it's a bit on the fancy side so I wanted to save it for the perfect occasion. I think tonight is that occasion! I think you should wear your…."

"All clear. No bugs." Paul announced.

"Good, because I haven't a clue what you packed and I was just going to be making stuff up that might be in your suitcase!"

Paul chuckled as he went over to the closet and began rummaging through the garment bag. He pulled the liner away that was attached with Velcro and revealed the documents that Francine had told him about. Amanda looked on wide eyed as he pulled the documents from his luggage. Paul sat on the bed and opened the folder.

"What's that?" Amanda inquired.

"This is all the latest info that the Agency has been able to assemble on our party guests. They don't seem to have a clue who M. Lincoln is. No clue at all."

"Well I did have a brief encounter with Hanna and I found out something very interesting."

"Really, what?"

"Well, it seems that at the party you were at in Vienna where you first saw her…..she was there with Max Kahn."

Paul looked up sharply from his documents.

"Are you sure? How do you know that?"

"I was in the gardens talking to Janet when she spotted Hanna and introduced me to her. Janet then recited a story of how, when at that party, she hid Hanna from some man named Max that wouldn't leave her alone. I assume it is the same Max."

Paul sat quietly for a moment processing the information that Amanda had just given him.

"What are you thinking, Paul?"

"Well, lots of things actually." Paul stood from the bed and began to pace around the room as he talked. Amanda smiled to herself thinking that this behavior reminded her so much of Lee. She wondered if Lee learned this thinking process from his mentor, Paul Barnes, or if he has always been a pacer. "On the one hand, we can't assume 100% that is was the same Max. Could have been an irritating party guest that became enamored with Hanna. On the other hand, it would stand to reason that it IS the same Max. But then I have to ask, why was she hiding from him? Are you sure she was hiding?"

"Yes! Very sure! Janet said that she hid Hanna in the butler's pantry while an 'angry little man' named Max was looking for her."

"Well that description certainly fits. Max has always had an angry demeanor. Why was she hiding?"

Amanda shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"Damn!" Paul suddenly blurted out.

What? What is it?"

"I just realized that this means that he and I were AT the same party and I missed him…..completely."

"Well you didn't know. You were there on vacation, weren't you?"

"It doesn't matter! I still should have known somehow! Do you know how many years this man has been on the agency's radar?"

"No, I'm sorry I don't."

"Too many! And I am one of the best in the business! How could I have missed this?"

"Paul…..do you think he might be here at the party?"

Paul stopped pacing and looked at Amanda.

"I think we need to plan for every possibility."

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

"Well? What did he say to you?" Max said sternly to Hanna as he held her tightly by the shoulders.

"You're hurting me! Not so tightly!" she replied as she tried to wriggle free of Max's grip.

"WHAT DID HE SAY TO YOU?"

"Nothing! He told me nothing! He asked me why I left him…why I never showed that day in Paris."

"And what did you say?"

"I said I thought he was dead! That's all I told him. Now let me go!"

Max released his grip on Hanna.

"How could that be all that you told him? Didn't he want more of an explanation than that?"

"Of course he did, but I told him I would tell him more later."

"When later?"

"Tonight…..9 o'clock. But I don't know what to say to him."

"You won't have to say a thing. He will be dead before he even has time to realize that you set him up."

**To Be Continued…**


	10. Chapter 10

Lee put his best game face on and went to the social hour before dinner. The many Scotches he had consumed earlier were beginning to leave his system and he was back in the game. Dressed in his finest urban cowboy couture, Lee was turning the heads of many ladies that evening. He only had eyes for one, but alas she was not his assignment tonight. With precious few hours before midnight, or the official beginning to Saturday, there wasn't much time left to decipher "M. Lincoln Saturday". Lee played the meet and greet game by wandering boisterously through the crowd and shaking as many hands as possible, but he was coming up empty as to any new leads. He wished that he and Amanda were working more closely on this case, and not just because he had feelings for her. He had come to rely on her instincts. Something about her off beat way of looking at the cases brought out the best in him, too. He could really use some of that inspiration right now. And almost as if on cue, who floated through the door, but Amanda. Lee's heart skipped a beat as he examined her beauty. She was dressed in black pants and a white silken halter top that had just enough shimmer to it to draw attention but not so much that made her look trashy. Lee loved her in white. It seemed to make her skin shimmer and beg to be caressed. Her hair was playfully piled atop her head with gentle wisps hanging down to frame her lovely face. He loved when she wore it this way. All he could think of doing was walking up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he pulled her close and placing a soft, sensual kiss on the nape of her exposed neck. Amanda glanced around the room taking in the people and the scenery. Her gaze fell upon Lee and they stared at each other from across the room. Lee gave her a warm, crooked smile before he could help himself. Amanda breathed a sigh of relief at his gesture. It was a sign that his mood had changed from the last time she saw him, or at least she hoped that was what it meant.

"Samantha!" A voice called from just inside the room. "Samantha, over here, my dear!"

Amanda looked up to see Janet waving to her from a few feet away. She smiled and waved back.

"That's Janet Johnston, the senator's wife", Amanda said to Paul as they walked closer to her.

"Hmm…good. Perhaps she will have more information on Hanna. Do you see her anywhere?" Paul replied.

Amanda quickly scanned the room.

"No, not yet."

"Samantha! So glad to see you! And this must be your darling husband." Janet said as she extended a hand to Paul.

"Yes, Janet. This is my husband, Cliff."

"Lovely to meet you, Mrs. Johnston", Paul said as he gently kissed the back of her hand.

"I am so delighted to see you both here tonight! I met your wife this afternoon and took an instant liking to her! I feel as if we are old friends." Janet beamed.

"Well we are absolutely thrilled to be here, too! I was telling Cliff all about you when we were up in our room getting ready for this evening's party! I was telling him about Hanna, too. Is she here?"

"I haven't seen her yet, but she'll be here! She was very interested in meeting some of our party guests, especially Ambassador Percosovich."

Paul's ears perked up at that name.

"From Turkey?" Paul asked.

"Yes. That's the one. Do you know him?" Janet asked with a very inquisitive tone to her voice.

"No, I don't know him but I have been an admirer for a while now." Paul replied.

"Well then I shall HAVE to introduce you to him as well-that is when he arrives tomorrow." Janet said.

Paul nodded his head and Amanda could tell that the wheels in his mind were turning.

"There are so many people here! A lot more than this afternoon!" Amanda remarked.

"Yes, a lot of them typically don't arrive until the evening. There will be even more people here tomorrow night, You know, the ones that don't stay over. Oh, Samantha….come with me for a few moments! I want to introduce you to Martha Tate. You will absolutely love her!" Janet said enthusiastically.

"Is that ok with you, Sweetheart?" Amanda asked Paul.

"Oh my yes. Yes! Go have fun! I will find you in a little while!" Paul said as he gave Amanda a kiss on the cheek.

"Wonderful! You know, I really shouldn't be telling you this but….." Paul heard Janet begin to say as she and Amanda disappeared into the crowd.

The kiss on the cheek didn't go unnoticed by Lee who was watching from across the room. He swallowed hard and tried his best to push it from his mind. His main objective was to find Hanna and he was quickly losing patience at her absence. He casually walked across the room to the hors d'oeuvres table where Paul and Francine were conversing.

"Howdy there, Cliff! Your wife is sure lookin' mighty fine this evenin'. What do ya'll recommend off of this here table?"

"The scallops wrapped in bacon are my favorite, Bob. Try those."

"MMM! MMM! I love me anything with bacon! I think it should be its own food group! Don't you?" Lee said popping some food into his mouth.

Francine finished putting some food on her tray as she talked to the two men.

"Did you see anything that we may have missed in those papers that I left in your room?"

"Not a thing, Francine. I don't like this at all. AND, Amanda told me that she found out that Kahn was in Vienna at the same party that I was. I cannot believe that I missed him. I am beginning to wonder if this whole thing isn't some giant waste of time. I feel like all we are doing here is spinning our wheels." Paul said with great frustration.

"Don't throw in the towel just yet. I still have my meeting tonight with Hanna at 9 in the garden. I am hoping I can get some answers out of her then." Lee responded. "Is my back up in place?"

"Yes. Billy has a team ready to go. He's planted some listening devices out there, too so we can listen in." Francine confirmed.

"Francine, did you know that Ambassador Percosovich is going to be here tomorrow?" Paul said.

"Yes, he's on our list but he didn't raise any flags. Is there something that you think we should be concerned about?"

"Not sure. Just double check what he's been up to lately. I'm going back up to my room for a second to double check a few things. Lee, keep an eye out for Hanna and you both keep an eye on Amanda." Paul said as he swiftly walked away from the table.

Francine picked up her serving tray and began to offer food to the party guests. The band began to play some soft romantic music. Lee found himself lost in thought as the melody carried his gaze once again to Amanda. She was laughing with Janet and a couple that he was unfamiliar with. Before he realized it, he found himself walking to her. He just needed to connect with her if only for a few moments.

"Pardon me, little lady, but I do believe you promised me a dance this evening. I am here to collect!"

Amanda tried to stifle a smile as she turned to see Lee's blue-green eyes softly looking back at her.

"Mr. Stevenson, how lovely to see you again. May I introduce you to Senator Johnston's wife, Janet and their good friends Amy and Kevin Stillwater."

Lee tipped his hat to them all. "Much obliged and please call me Bob." Pleasantries were returned by the small crowd. "I hope ya'll will excuse us, but Miss Samantha owes me a dance."

Lee offered his arm to Amanda and led her out to the dance floor. The band began its next song as Amanda placed her hand in Lee's and her other hand on his shoulder. Lee gripped Amanda's hand gently and moved his arm around her waist and onto the small of her bare back. They both felt a jolt of electricity as Lee's hand made contact with her flesh. A small sigh escaped Amanda's lips and fell softly into Lee's ear. He pulled her closer to him as the music washed over them both.

"Lee, I…" Amanda began.

"Shhh", he softly whispered into her ear. "Let's not talk, just let me hold you close like this for a few minutes like I wanted to last night at your house, on your couch, like I have wanted to all day long."

Amanda slowly nodded her head and allowed herself to revel in the marvelous feeling of Lee holding her close. They both could feel each other's hearts beating wildly the closer together their bodies moved. Lee breathed in Amanda's scent and wished the whole world would stop for them to live in this moment. The song came to an end and the band stopped playing. Amanda looked up at Lee only to find his eyes transfixed on her. The pull between them was becoming too hard to resist. Amanda nervously ran her tongue over her lips in anticipation of the kiss that was to come. Lee gazed into her eyes for a moment longer as he began to lower his lips to meet her own.

"May I cut in?" A booming voice said from behind them.

Lee and Amanda both turned their heads to see Paul standing before them waiting for them to separate.

"Of course. We were just dancing….dancing. That's all we were doing." Amanda said awkwardly. Lee also shifted uncomfortably as he realized where they were and that he almost kissed Amanda and would have thus blown their cover.

"Bob, thanks for keeping an eye on my wife!" Paul said as he placed his arm around Amanda. The music began again. This song was not nearly as slow and romantic as the one that had just played. "Hanna is outside, Lee. You should go find her."

Lee listened to Paul's words and nodded as he made his way out of the tent and off to find Hanna. As soon as he was out of sight of Paul and Amanda, Lee stopped walking and took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled it back out again. He should have never let himself get that close to kissing Amanda while on assignment. He shook himself out for a moment and regained his composure as Bob Stevenson. Across the way, he spotted Hanna. She looked distressed and was pacing back and forth. Lee carefully walked over to her as to not spook her.

"Hanna, honey…..I've been lookin' for you all afternoon."

Startled, Hanna looked at Lee with wide eyes.

"You…you scared me."

"I'm sorry…..I just want to talk. I want to get some answers and try to understand what happened all those years ago. Can we do that, please?" Lee said taking her hands in his.

"Oh, Robert…..9 o'clock. Can we please wait until 9 o'clock?"

"Why? Why can't we talk now? I'm here, you're here. Why does it matter what damn time it is?"

Hanna looked away from Lee and began to leave. He quickly grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"No, please….don't. I'm being watched. He will kill me if I talk to you now. Please…..wait until 9. Then we will be alone and we can talk."

"Who's watchin' ya, honey? I can protect you. I lost you once, I don't want to lose you again!"

"No, you cannot. You cannot protect me. Just forget you ever saw me here and wait until 9."

Hanna broke free of Lee's grasp and disappeared into a crowd of people.

"Well, Scarecrow….", Lee said to himself. "If you weren't sure before, you are now. 9 o'clock is another word for SET UP."

To be continued…..


	11. Chapter 11

Paul was restless at dinner. He tried his best to make small talk with the couples that had been seated with them at their table. Lee had not returned since leaving to find Hanna. Amanda worried about him and what kind of situations he might be finding himself in; this included situations of both the dangerous and romantic varieties. As Janet Johnston wandered around mingling, she managed to stop over to Amanda and tell her the latest piece of gossip that she happened to pick up. Amanda pretended to be interested, but honestly could not have cared less.

"What time is it?" Amanda asked Paul as she noticed him checking his watch for the umpteenth time this evening.

"8:37…time to make sure that Lee's back up is in place."

"Do you think the meeting is a set up?"

"Yes I do- 100%"

"Hanna seemed genuinely scared when Janet brought up Max in conversation earlier today. Is it possible that she is not working for him?"

"Oh, I am sure she was plenty scared. Max Kahn is a vicious killer and if he thought for a moment that Hanna betrayed him, she would be dead-and he would make it as painful as possible."

"oohhhhh" Amanda said as she sunk back into her chair. Her thoughts immediately went to Lee. She hoped that he knew he was walking into a set up.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Patience was never one of Lee's strong suits. He paced back and forth at the rendezvous spot. He felt like an animal being served up for slaughter. All of his sense became hypersensitive. Every acorn that fell made him flinch, every zephyr through the trees had him reaching for his gun.

"Hurry up, damn it! Let's get this over with!" He muttered to himself.

Just then, he saw a figure approaching him…he placed his hand on his weapon and tried to make out the person ahead of him.

"Robert?" Hanna's voice called out.

"Yes, honey! It's me!"

Hanna looked at Lee for a moment and then jumped into his arms, kissing him passionately. Lee kissed her back out of necessity.

"Robert, I don't know where to start. I thought you were dead! I was so frightened….I ran…I left Paris and never went back."

"It's ok! We can talk all about it. Why don't we go back up to my room where we can have some privacy?" Lee took her by the hand and attempted to lead her out of this dimly lit garden.

"NO!" she cried as she pulled her hand away from him and firmly planted her feet to the ground. "No…we must stay here."

"OK….OK…whatever you want. Let's sit down on the bench and talk for a spell."

Lee knew that he had to get out of there fast, for every moment he stayed, he was a sitting duck. But he also knew that he needed to get the information from Hanna on Kahn.

"Where did you go after Paris, Hanna?"

"I went back home to Germany. I had no choice."

"What do you mean you had no choice?"

Hanna looked down at the ground. Tears began to fill her eyes.

"Don't cry, honey…just talk to me. Why did you have no choice? Was someone after you?"

Hanna stood up from the bench and began to walk. With her back to him, she softly spoke.

"Yes, someone was after me…..and they still are."

Hanna turned around and pointed a gun at Lee, her hand trembling. Lee immediately stood up and tried to calm her.

"Whoa, little Darlin'! What's this all about? Put that gun down or you might hurt someone….namely me!"

"I cannot. If I don't kill you, he will kill me."

"Who will kill you? Kahn? Is Kahn the one that has this hold on you?"

Hanna's eyes widened at the sound of his name. Her face became frightened.

"How do you know about him?"

"Hanna, just give me the gun and we can talk. I can protect you. Just tell me where he is and what he is planning."

As Lee took a step closer to Hanna, the sound of a gun being fired with a silencer could barely be heard. Hanna crumpled to the ground clutching her chest. Lee quickly knelt down beside her, his weapon drawn.

"See, I told you he was watching me. I am sorry….."

"Hanna, you're going to be ok", Lee lied to her as he watched the blood pour from her wound.

"No, I am not…but before I die I must do one thing."

"What? What do you need to do?"

"This" she said as she fired her gun point blank at Lee's chest, sending him flying across the patio landing on his back.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Amanda hated to be left behind. Paul left her at dinner while he went to check on Lee. Sitting alone at the table was equivalent to being left in the car. Amanda placed her napkin on the table and excused herself. She walked cautiously out of the tent and into the night air. There was no sign of Francine, Paul or Lee. Lots of other party guests mingled on the lawn under the twinkling lights that had been placed in the trees. Some of these party guests could be agency…..Amanda had no way of knowing on way or the other. She thought it would be best to just use her instincts. She headed down the path towards the rendezvous sight-or at least the path that she thought was the correct one. Her instincts had not been correct this time. As she walked further down the path, the garden became thicker and the shrubbery became higher. Realizing that she was not in the right place, she thought it best to turn around and head back to the tent. This area of the garden was very sparsely lit and it was difficult to see the path. Amanda headed for the more well lit area of the garden. As she rounded the tall hedge, she was thrown to the ground by another person running very quickly in the opposite direction. He fell to the ground, too.

"Oh my gosh! Are you alright?" Amanda said as she tried to help him up. She walked over to the man that rested in a pool of light from an overhead lamp. The man moved to a half sitting position and shook the daze out of his head. Their eyes locked and Amanda gasped. Before her she saw the same ice blue eyes that she had seen in the agency conference room this morning.

"MAX!" she exclaimed before she could help herself.

Max's face quickly turned terrifying with rage. He reached for his gun to shoot Amanda, only to discover that it had been dropped when they collided. Suddenly, a gun shot rang out in the night not far from where Amanda stood. It startled them both. Realizing that he had no weapon, Max got up and ran into the darkness. Amanda heard Francine's voice through the bushes.

"Lee? Lee? Speak to me, Lee!" Francine grabbed her walkie talkie and spoke into it. "Agent down! Repeat! Agent down!"

Panic began to set into Amanda. She charged through the bushed towards Francine's voice. The scene before her stopped her heart for a moment. Paul was standing over Hanna's bloody body-her eyes frozen open. Opposite her was Lee lying motionless on the ground with Francine standing over him.

"Lee!" Amanda shouted as she rushed to his side.

"Amanda, wait!" Francine cried.

Amanda ignored her and pushed her way through the other agents to Lee. She grabbed his still warm hand and began to talk to him.

"Lee? Wake up, Lee. Lee? Can you hear me? It's Amanda! Wake up!"

Lee began to squeeze her hand-very faintly at first. Then suddenly, Lee let out a primal scream and sat up clutching his chest.

"AAAARRRGGGGGGGGG! DAMN IT! DAMN IT THAT FUCKING HURTS!"

Amanda sat back on her heels with wide eyes as Lee screamed and thrashed. Tears began to well up in her eyes. Paul immediately rushed over to Lee and ripped open his shirt-he had worn his bullet proof vest! The dent in the middle of the vest showed that the shot would have been fatal had it been delivered with no vest….or had the gun been of a larger caliber.

"Scarecrow….calm down. Just breathe! Scarecrow!"

Lee looked at Paul with the eyes of a mad man. He was obviously in so much pain. Lee grabbed onto Paul's arm as he look in shallow, labored breaths.

"That's it….in and out…..slowly."

Francine quickly went to work removing the vest so they could get a better look at his chest. There on his sternum, a large red and purple welt appeared.

"You're gonna have one hell of a bruise, Scarecrow. But you will live to tell the tale." Paul assured him.

"What about, Hanna?" Lee asked

"She's dead. She was already dead by the time we got here." Francine reported. "Why did you shoot her?"

"I didn't. Someone else did. I'm not sure if they were trying to shut her up or if they missed and shot her instead of me. Whichever it was, she was shot before I got anything out of her."

"Damn! That means we are no closer to finding out where Kahn is than we were two days ago." Paul said.

"That's not exactly true." Amanda added as she gestured to the adjacent path. "I just ran into him on the next path over right before I heard the gun shot."

All eyes were on Amanda as she spoke.

"Are you sure it was him, Amanda?" Francine questioned.

"Positive. We ran into each other and knocked each other down. I went over to help him up and saw those same cold, ice blue eyes that I saw this morning in the agency conference room. I think I knocked his gun out of his hand, too. I am pretty sure he would have shot me if he found it. Instead, he ran off when he heard your voices."

"Damn it, Amanda! You could have been killed! What were you doing on that path anyway?" Lee said to her as he struggled to stand. Amanda helped him to his feet. She felt the need to be close to him at this moment.

"Well, I thought I could be of some help so I went to the garden…I guess I chose the wrong path."

"You guess you chose the wrong path? You ran smack into Max Kahn, literally. I would definitely say you chose the wrong path! Why can't you just do what you're told, Amanda? You really…uh! Damn!" Lee said as he winced in pain.

"Calm down, Lee. Amanda may have just given us our first break in this case. We know Kahn IS here and can therefore surmise that 'M. Lincoln Saturday' is in his plans for tomorrow-right here." Paul stated. "Amanda, why don't you help Lee up to his room and Francine and I will talk to Billy and plan our next move. Meet you up in our room in an hour."

Lee began to protest but then thought better of it. He nodded and put his arm around Amanda for support.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Amanda insisted that Lee lie down on the bed. He argued with her for a moment and then realized that she was right.

"Stay right there. I am going across the hall to get you some ice. We have some in our room." Amanda said.

"Pfftt. Our room? It should have been **OUR** room, Amanda. Yours and mine. Not yours and Paul's." Lee muttered to himself.

"Did you say something?" Amanda said returning to Lee's room.

"No, just griping about the pain."

Amanda sat gently on the edge of the bed beside Lee and smiled warmly. Lee felt a wave of comfort wash over him.

"Let me take a look" she said as she opened up his shirt. "Oh, Lee! That looks awful!"

"Well it doesn't feel too great either!"

"Here, let's take off this tie and open your shirt up a little more so I can put some ice on it."

Lee and Amanda both reached for the bolo tie at the same time, both fumbling to loosen it from his neck.

"I'll do it. You just rest." Amanda said in her best mothering tone.

She slid the small cord out from his collar and handed him the tie as she unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt.

"Damn!" Lee exclaimed.

"What?" a startled Amanda answered back.

"This was my favorite bolo and look at it! One end got shot off!"

"THAT'S what you are worried about right now? I should know better than to really worry about you." Amanda said with a laughing lilt to her voice as she gently applied the ice to Lee's bruised chest. Lee smiled at her as she laughed at him. He looked up at her beautiful face from the bed studying her delicate features. He raised a hand up to her face to brush a stray wisp of hair away from her eyes. His hand then rested on her face, cupping her jaw. She looked up at him and smiled warmly as their eyes gazed deeply into one another. Lee gently began pulling Amanda down to him. He so wanted to taste her lips on his. He was ready to finally claim her for his own. Slowly the two moved towards each other; the kiss was going to happen this time!

Suddenly, Lee jerked back and grunted in pain.

"Ahh!"

"Oh, Lee! I'm sorry! Are you alright?"

"Yes! I am fine….." he said angrily. "I'm….I'm fine." He said more calmly as he looking into Amanda's concerned face.

"Think someone is trying to tell us something?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it seems the timing is never right, if you know what I mean. Something always gets in our way."

Lee looked up at Amanda. She wasn't wrong but he refused to believe that a shared kiss between them wasn't meant to be. He took her hand in his and began running his thumb over her the back of her hand.

"Well, maybe THIS time it's not right….with me here all bruised. But I promise you, there will come a time, very soon, when it will be right. And I don't intend to let anything stand in our way. Understand?"

"Yeah" Amanda said quietly with a huge smile on her face. The two of them sat quietly for a little while holding hands and staring at each other. Lee's eye lids began to feel heavy and he was finding it difficult to keep them open.

"Manda…I'm just going to close my eyes for a few minutes, OK?" He said with a sleepy voice.

"You go ahead and get some rest. I will be right here when you wake up." She said as she softly stroked his hair. A sleepy smile spread across Lee's face. She felt his grip on her hand relax-she knew he was asleep. Amanda carefully stood up from the bed, trying not to disturb Lee's sleep. Grabbing a throw blanket that was folded over the arm chair in the corner, she gently covered Lee's sleeping body so that he wouldn't get cold and kissed his forehead.

Amanda heard noises from across the hall. She opened the door and saw that Paul and Francine had returned. Closing Lee's door behind her, she met them inside her own room.

"How's Lee?" Francine asked.

"Resting. Pretty awful bruise but I think he will be fine. What did you guys find out?"

"We searched Hanna's room and found some coded messages. Our men are working on decoding them now. I hope they can break the code in time." Francine informed her.

"Amanda, are you absolutely positive that it was Kahn you saw?" Paul asked.

"Yes! 100% positive. I will never forget those eyes. His head had no hair like in the picture and he had no beard, but it was definitely him."

Paul took out his walkie and spoke. "The package is bare, repeat the package is bare"

Amanda looked at Francine with a puzzled look.

"That means that Kahn has no hair- we are looking for a bald man."

"Ahhhh, OK. You know it really would be helpful if I could have a list of all these codes to study for the future." Amanda stated.

"Duly noted" Francine said back to her.

"I'm going out looking again, I can't just sit here and do NOTHING!" Paul stated. "You two stay here and look through these files again. There has to be something that we missed!"

"Uh, what about Lee?" Amanda asked.

"What about him?" Paul shot back.

"Shouldn't we have someone watching him? Seems he was the target before. Probably will be again."

"She's right, Paul. We should post an agent outside his room while Amanda and I look through these files.

"Yeah….you're right. I'll get Carter on it ASAP." With that, Paul grabbed some extra clips for his gun and headed out the door.

"Alright, Amanda…..let's get to work. The answer has GOT to be in here somewhere."

The two women pored over the files for the next few hours but to no avail. Amanda stood up to give her aching back a stretch and looked out the window. The sun was cresting over the horizon.

"Oh my gosh! What time is it?"

Francine looked at her watch. "5:45AM…we've been at this for hours and still no clues. Amanda, I have cracked much harder cases than this with much less information to go on! What are we missing?"

"I wish I knew, Francine. It almost seems like we are completely barking up the wrong tree. I think we both need a few minutes break from these papers. The words are all starting to blur together."

"I know! I know! I just….hhuuuuhhhhhhhh! This is so frustrating!" Francine stood up and starting pacing around the room.

Both women froze and stared at the door as it swung open. In walked Lee.

"Lee! How are you feeling?" Amanda said rushing over to him.

"I am sore as hell, but I think a little better. What did we find out."

"Almost nothing! Paul and I searched Hanna's room and found some coded messages that our team is working on decoding right now, but that's it. Amanda and I have going over every word, every sentence in these files and again…..nothing."

"Come on, Francine! There's got to be SOMETHING. We've solved harder cases with less." Lee replied.

"That is exactly what I just said to Amanda."

Lee carefully sat down in the arm chair and asked where Paul was.

"He's out looking for Kahn", Francine replied.

Amanda stood by the window and looked out at the morning sun shining upon the rose garden.

"Too bad Mother isn't here. She would absolutely go crazy for Mrs. Johnston's roses. Mother has a real green thumb. She can make anything grow. Especially her rose garden. She loves yellow roses…Graham Thomas is her favorite."

"Who the hell is Graham Thomas?" Lee asked in an annoyed tone. "I thought you were talking about roses."

Amanda turned around and looked at him.

"I am talking about roses. Graham Thomas is the name of a particular type of yellow rose."

"Roses have names? Don't they just call them yellow? Red?" Lee remarked sarcastically.

"No, no they don't. It's very interesting actually. Each color rose has many different varieties and different name. Many of them are named after specific people. For example, Graham Thomas is one of the more popular yellow roses, the Abraham Darby is this really beautiful pink rose-it almost looks like there are two roses in each blossom….."

Francine and Lee exchanged eye rolls as they listened to Amanda ramble on.

Amanda continued to look out the window and point to her favorites. "Oh, but one of my favorite roses are those red rose over there called the Mr. Lincoln. It is…." Amanda froze and her face completely lit up. "Francine! Give me that guest list again. Quickly."

"Amanda, we've gone over and over the guest list." She said handing the papers to Amanda.

Amanda quickly scanned the pages.

"She's not on here. How could she not be on here?" Amanda stated not looking up from the pages.

"Who, Amanda? Who is not on there?" Francine stated in a very annoyed tone.

"The First Lady….Mrs. Reagan. She's not on here." Amanda said excitedly.

"Why would Mrs. Reagan be on that list, Amanda?" Lee barked.

"Yesterday, Janet-Senator Johnston's wife, told me that Mrs. Reagan was coming here this morning to look at her rose garden. Said she had planted some new roses and invited Mrs. Reagan to come see them. Said it was very hush hush because she was only staying for an hour or so and didn't want a lot of fuss. I just assumed that the agency would know about her arrival."

"That's Secret Service's department not ours. What does this have to do with M. Lincoln Saturday?" Lee barked again.

"Don't you see? They are going to be walking through the rose garden right past those Mr. Lincoln roses…THIS MORNING! Kahn is known for his explosives, isn't he? Wouldn't that be a perfect spot to plant a bomb and blow up the First Lady?" Amanda said with more and more agitation to her voice.

Lee and Francine dashed to the window. The earth looked as if it had been freshly turned over near the red roses.

"Lee, I think she could be right!" Francine said. She sprinted across the room and out the door.

Lee grabbed Francine's walkie talkie.

"Scarecrow to Wizard….it's the rose garden! The red roses in the rose garden! There's a bomb. Get that area evacuated now!"

"What? Are you sure?" Paul's voice asked through the speaker.

"Yes! And Mrs. B is an expected visitor this morning! Visiting the rose garden." Lee yelled into the walkie.

Amanda watched a half dozen agents including Paul swarm the rose garden. They carefully swept the dirt off the mound of freshly turned earth and revealed a hefty amount of explosives. Amanda couldn't see exactly what they were doing, but within 30 seconds, she heard Paul's voice come through the speaker as he gave them a thumbs up.

"All clear. The bomb has been defused. Good work, Scarecrow."

"This one was all Amanda. Scarecrow out."

"Lee, who is Mrs. B? And what about Max?" Amanda asked.

"Well, Mrs. B is Mrs. Reagan."

"Why not call her Mrs. R?"

"Well…..we call President Reagan Bonzo….you know….."Bed Time for Bonzo"? So it makes sense that Mrs. Reagan would be Mrs. B."

"Ahh, I see…and Max?"

"Well, I don't know. Depends on if they can find him or not. We may have another run in with him some day. Hope not, but that is the reality."

"I hope not, too. This was a tough case."

"And thanks to you, we solved it."

Lee wrapped his arms around Amanda and held her tight.

"Great work, partner!"

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

"You know, Paul, you don't need to bring me to the Doc. I am fine. I just want to go home!" Lee complained.

"Well, I'm sure that's true but never hurts to be safe. Besides, I promised Amanda that I would walk you there myself. She wouldn't get out of the car unless I promised….and I always keep my promises." Paul smirked.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, and if you don't go, I'm going to pay you back for this!" Paul said pointing to his lip.

"Uh…..about that. Look, I am…"

"Save it, Scarecrow. I know exactly why you slugged me and if I had been in your shoes, I probably would have done the same thing."

"You know?"

"Yeah, I just can't believe I didn't see it before."

"See what?"

"How in love you are with Amanda."

"Paul, I'm not…."

"And how in love she is with you, too."

"She is?"

Lee suddenly felt like a 15 year old boy asking his first girl to the dance.

"Yeah, she is. I just don't get it why you two don't do anything about it. We only live once. And you and I both know how quickly life can be taken away."

"Yeah….I know. Soon….it will be soon."

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Amanda had barely been home 15 minutes when the doorbell rang. She opened the door to find a flower delivery boy standing there with a huge bouquet of red roses.

"Are you Amanda King?" he said.

"Uh, yes, yes I am."

"Then these are for you!"

He handed her the flowers.

"Wait a minute! I forgot to give you a tip" she called after him.

"It's already been taken care of! Have a great day!"

Amanda shut the door and brought the flowers into the kitchen. Placing them on the counter, she opened the envelope and pulled out the card inside.

"Great work today, Partner. And remember, the right time is coming very soon. XOXO"

"I sure hope so, Lee…..I sure hope so." Amanda said softly to herself as she held the card close to her heart and sighed a happy sigh.


End file.
